Broke not Broken
by SoulGlitch
Summary: Everyone thinks that Cassie is crazy. The doctors, her Aunt Judy... even her cousin Sam. But if seeing ghosts makes you crazy then yeah Cassie's nuts. Just ask her sister, her 'extra personality' Crescent she'll tell ya that they're both nuts. Meanwhile Sam's fretting over Cassie finding out the truth about Bee and the other bots and how to keep her from freaking out when she does.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**So I thought that I would try this out and see how well this story does... Um... I guess I would like you to review if you like this... **

**Um... I don't own Transformers... Just my OC's Cassie and Crescent. Thank you.**

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Chapter 0: Prologue

~x~

~x~

~x~

Grey eyes stared out the car window as the world outside passed in a blur. Their owner mute as she sighed softly as she shifted her gaze to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her aunt nervously glancing back at her from the passenger seat. The memory of what the doctor had told her aunt and uncle came to mind...

_"We are concerned about her mental health. I've noticed that she has had a... relapse with her schizophrenia and so I've increased her medications. I also hate to say this but we have been worried about suicide..."_

_Judy gasped. "She hasn't-"_

_"No. But with her relapse and the loss of her father..."_

"We're almost home sweetie." Her aunt Judy said breaking her from her thoughts as her uncle pulled the car off the freeway.

_"I know things are going to be different from now on but... hopefully you like it here..."_ a voice whispered into her ear_._

_No I won't... I want my old life back..._ Cassie thought as she closed her eyes and stuck her ear buds in her ears. She didn't want anyone to tell her how her life was going to be, she wanted it as it had _been_.

"Here we are." Ron said as he pulled into the driveway.

"Home sweet home," Her aunt chortled.

_"Peachy."_

Cassie ignored the voice with a shake of her head, biting back the retort that sprang to mind. The sixteen year old closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the echoing voice in her head...

Ron opened her door and gave her a weak smile. "Come on sweetie. Let's get you settled in."

Cassie flinched at the endearment but mutely clambered out of the car. Judy slid her arm over the sixteen year olds shoulders and led her into the house. "Now we fixed you up a room, it's on the opposite side of the hall from Sam's room... Say are you hungry? I could fix you some of my famous meatloaf for dinner..."

The girl cringed as she finally said something for the first time in two days since Judy and Ron joined the girl. "Aunt Judy... I'm a vegetarian..."

Judy blinked at the girl's quiet statement before smiling. "Then how about some stir fry?"

Cassie nodded as she headed up the stairs and giving Ron a brief nod and thanks for carrying her bags to her room. He closed the door behind him as he left her alone in the room. She opened one of her bags and pulled out her sketchpad. She glimpsed over her last set of drawings, pictures of her father working under one of the precinct's patrol cars, his friends Reggie and Jon also bent over the hood of the vehicle as they joked with the mechanic underneath it.

Tears welled up in her eyes once more as she thought about her father. She wanted to be _home_... with him laughing over who was going to cook that night... someone that didn't judge her for the things that made her different... Cassie sighed as she gathered her pens and made her way back downstairs and out to sit in the yard below.

X

~~~~Scene Break~~~

X

All I'm saying is that I don't need you freaking her out. I doubt that seeing you in your bipedal form isn't the best thing for her at this minute in time Bee." Sam said as Bumblebee drove him back towards his house. Sam had just gotten out of school and had been instantly been berated again by Bee about his cousin.

"And the how do you know that I'm not going to 'freak' her out with me using my holoform?" The blonde haired holoform narrowed his azure eyes at Sam in irritation.

"I don't. I haven't really seen her in like five years since her mom and sister died... The only thing I do know is that she has a multitude of psych problems the least of which is her schizophrenia."

A blank look crossed the holoform's face as Bee looked up the term. "... She has multiple personalities?"

"Just one... It's actually named after her sister... She developed her other personality after Crescent died."

Bee blinked at the name "Crescent?"

"Yeah. Her real name was Artemis but she hated it as well as her mother's nickname for her Artie, so we called her Crescent instead." Sam said as Bee pulled into the back driveway and parked in front of the garage. "Anyways if she starts muttering she's most likely talking to her other personality, so don't-" Sam cut himself off as he found the short Brunette sitting in the grass under one of the trees in the backyard glaring at him.

~x~

(Cassie POV)

~x~

Cassie glanced up when the sound of an engine drew her from the sketch she had been working on. She at first put on a smile when he saw Sam until she heard what he was telling his companion... She glared as she heard him say: "...if she starts muttering, she most likely talking to her other personality so don't-" Sam by now had caught the dark look she was shooting at him as Crescent growled at the 'personality' comment.

_"Hmph. I am not just a figment of your imagination."_

"Heey! How are you doing?" Sam smiled as he tried to save face.

Cassie shook her head before replying, "I see that you still have your foot in your mouth. I can only hope that you've at least changed your socks Samuel. I wouldn't want you getting athletes face."

"Ow you wound me with such words."

The girl went back to her sketchbook ignoring the two of them.

_"I can see that he hasn't really changed."_

_I don't know Crescent... Look at his aura... Something's changed... _Cassie thought as she slyly eyed her cousin over the sketchbook.

_"You're right... Have you checked out the cutie though? He barely has an aura..." _

"Again you've got another solid point. Not that it is a good one... I've seen ghosts with more of an aura than he does." Cassie muttered as she watched the two of them go inside the house.

_"But the car..._"

"I see it." her gaze shifted to look over her lenses at the yellow and black Camaro. She stared for sometime before a hand waved in front of her face causing her to jump. She turned to at the owner, which turned out to be the blonde haired guy that had been with Sam.

"Judy asked me to tell you it's time for dinner." he said as he flashed her a smile. Her sister swooned at his accent. She shot the specter a brief glare before nodding and closing the book.

"Thank you...?"

"Uh... my designation is Ben, but you can call me Bee."

_"Designation? Good grief how formal is this guy?" _

_A little too formal... _"So um... I assume Sam already told you my name."

Bee shook his head. "Actually he hadn't gotten that far yet..."

Cassie snorted. "Figures he'd tell everyone that I'm cuckoo but not my name. Well It's Cassandra Cooper. Cassie for short."

"A pleasure to meet you Cassie."


	2. Chapter 1: The Hell of Disbelief

**Wow 3 faves and six follows already! I feel a little more confident in posting this chapter. I can only hope that it meets your expectations... **

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, and HeartGuardianSol for fave/follow/reviewing... **

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers!**

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**Chapter 1**

~x~

(Cassie pov)

~x~

Cassie was sitting on the path first thing in the morning when Bee activated his holoform. He frowned at the girl sitting there, her stance peaceful and relaxed as she appeared to be meditating in the early morning light, her chocolate colored locks catching lightly in the breeze.

But that peace was shattered by a somewhat panicky Judy bursting out the door in her bathrobe and Pj's. "Cassie! What the hell are you doing out here this early? You need to be getting ready for school. I was worried when I didn't find you in bed-"

An irritated look graced the girl's overly sharp features as she sighed and slowly got to her feet. "I'm sorry Aunt Judy... I was only meditating like Dr. Augustine suggested that I do to help settle my mind. Also I've been up since five and I've already gotten my bag waiting over by the fountain. I was only waiting for Sam to get up."

Judy blinked at her niece for a minute before sighing, the tension releasing from her shoulders. "Have you at least taken your pills?" The girl flinched, earning a renewed glare from Judy. "You know that you have to take your meds now get in here and take them."

The girl's lips drawn in a thin line as she headed into the house as Judy gave her a stern look. "I don't need the fricking pills..." the girl growled under her breath as she passed by Bee who mutely followed the two into the house.

~x~

x~Timeskip~x

~x~

Cassie glared at the clock watching each second antagonizingly tick towards the twelve. Having not been in school since elementary school she had both hated and enjoyed today... Most of the people had automatically associated her with her spazzy cousin and deemed her an outcaste which was fine with her... Especially with Crescent's peanut gallery comments about everyone. It took quite a bit of restraint not to vocalize any of her laughter as the witty comments.

The bell finally rang and the room quickly began to clear out. Cassie gathered her books and slowly made her way to her locker.

_"It's about flipping time I was running out of jokes..."_

_I could do without them you know... The last thing I need is everyone thinking I'm crazy.._

_"But you are to a point and degree..."_

_No dear Crescent that is your expertise not mine. _

_"Very true I suppose... Though as I've pointed out I'm just a ghost... How can I help how people perceive you?"_

_By not making me act out for no apparent reason. _

_"I can't help it that we both have ADHD... And that I am insatiably hyper..."_

_I'm just glad you're not a poltergeist..._

"Hey Cassie!" as Bee came up beside her, startling the girl and causing her to drop her books from his sudden appearance. "Oh sorry..." he said as he stooped to help her pick up her stuff.

"It's okay I was just really lost in thought." she mumbled as she took the books from him.

_"Careful you don't want to overwork that poor brain of yours."_

_Shut up._ Cassie growls inwardly as she continued on to her locker.

"So how was your first day?" Bee asked as he leaned against the lockers.

Cassie scoffed as she fought with the lock. "It's school how do you think it went?"

"I just figured I'd make some small talk..." Bee said as he glanced around for Sam.

_"You could be a little nicer to him Cassie..."_

"Just shut up..." Cassie hissed under her breath.

Bee raised a brow as he glanced over at the girl. She could feel his eyes on her as she yanked her bag out of the locker and shoved the books in. "Well I suppose we should get going before Sam starts complaining about having to take me home so I can choke down my crazy pills..."

_"Oh look Sam's in a fight..."_

"What?" Cassie blinked and turned to face the direction that Crescent's voice had come from. The ghost was looking down at the ground. Cassie stalked over and glanced down to the crowd that surrounded them below, as Bee let out a curse. Before she could turn around the Blonde was gone.

_"Oooh that looked like it hurt..."_

_Just shut up and come on. _Cassie started down the stairs and out the nearest door as she tried to make her way through the clamoring teens cheering on the other guy apparently named Trent, who was currently trying to get a hit in on Sam who ducked under the swing. He kept trying to get out of the circle only to get shoved back into the other guy by the guys surrounding them. Sam's nose was bleeding from the hit Crescent had commented on.

"Come on Witkety surely you ain't that much of a pussy, hit me. Or are you only able to talk up a good fight?"

"Let me through..." Cassie growled as she tried to push by the jocks. Suddenly the ones closet to her were shoved aside as Bee and a girl with long black air and aquamarine green eyes passed her.

"Trent leave him alone!" The girl growled as she placed herself between him and Sam as Bee checked over Sam's nose. Cassie Joined the two guys as she winced at the sight of Sam's nose up close. She fished into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to him.

"Why should I? tell me Mikaela what does that spazz have that I don't?" Trent sneered.

"You mean besides a better attitude?" Mikaela glared at Trent.

_"And probably a bigger-"_

_Crescent ew! Yuck no don't argh... now I need mind bleach... _

"Fine be a little whore Mikaela." Trent growled as the boys around the hissed and catcalled.

"You know I wouldn't be surprised if the asswipe is only acting so big and bad to make up for the lack of size in his pants." Cassie found the words slipping out before she could stop herself. _Crescent!_

"What you say bitch?"

Crescent grinned cruelly as Cassie found herself turning around. "Now why would you call me a bitch when you're so close to being a eunuch?" she quipped. _Crescent let me go... now._

_"Oh just let me have my fun..."_

_But they'll be _my _bruises..._

_"What bruises?"_

Trent lunged for her. "Why you little cu-" he started but was cut off as she slammed an elbow into his diaphragm before sweeping his feet out from under him. Grabbing his arm as he flailed it out to catch himself she pinned it against his back while kneeling into his back.

"Now didn't your mama teach you to never hit a girl?" Crescent asked as she wrapped her other arm around his neck. "Never talk to me or any other girl like that again or I will make you regret letting the words slip from your lips. My father taught me all the tricks in the book for taking down a larger opponent even if they're a dickless jock like you."

~x~

(Bee pov)

~x~

Bee stared wide eyed at the girl the icy tone that Cassie spoke in. The girl's somewhat meek attitude was gone replaced with a somewhat sadistic side... Was this perhaps the alter ego that Sam had mentioned? He watched as the girl got up off of the bully, noting the girl's normally dark grey eyes were very pale for a microsecond before she blinked and walked over to join the rest of them. The circle of people had slowly dispersed after Trent hit the ground... Not to mention that there were teachers heading their way.

"You okay Samuel?" Cassie asked as she gently pulled his hands away from his nose.

"Define okay." he grunted. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Remember when my dad tried to teach you martial arts? Just because you didn't have any patience and discipline didn't mean that I didn't. Besides, he wanted to make sure that I knew how to defend myself... especially after mom died..." she trailed off as a sad look crossed her features.

"Cassie?"

"I'm fine... though it looks like that jerk broke your nose. Judy's going to have a fit..."

"Not to mention Ratchet." Bee chuckled. He noted Trent getting to his feet and scurrying off as soon as the girl's back was turned to him.

"Mr. Wikettery? Ms. Banes what is going on here? Were you fighting?" a teacher glared at the group as he suspiciously examined the blood coating Sam's face.

Cassie turned to face the teacher and smiled. "Sorry sir, I kinda tackled my cousin and accidentally bashed his face into the concrete, that's why he's bleeding." She said sweetly as she rubbed the back of her head.

The teacher narrowed his eyes before shrugging and walking away grumbling about stupid students. Cassie turned back to face Sam with a smile and a thumbs up. "So... we should probably get you to someone that can fix that nose of yours Samuel."

"Who are you?" Mikaela blinked at the girl.

"I'm Sam's cousin Cassandra. You must be Mikaela, Aunt Judy talks about you half of the drive here."

"Cassandra? I thought he said something about the name Crescent?"

"That would be my twin." Cassie said biting her lip as she looked away from Mikaela as she caught Bee staring at her with a raised brow. He heard Sam whisper to Mikaela about Cassie's alter ego...

_Twin? _He thought as she raised her own brow upon seeing the inquisitive look on his face.

"What?"

"Um... Nothing..." Bee said as he looked away as Sam finally got up and they began making his way over to his altmode. "Sam did you want me to give Ratch' a call?"

"Better him fixing me up than my mom freaking out over an ER bill." Sam grumbled.

~x~

(and back to Cassie pov...)

The car ride went quiet for Cassie for the first few minutes as she took deep breaths and tried not to think about the weird aura that the Camaro emitted...

_It's gotta be possessed or something..._

_"I'm not feeling anything like that..." _Crescents voice quietly echoed in the back of her head.

_Still why would this freaking car have such a strong aura? _

_"Maybe it's the Devil's Camaro or something?"_

_It doesn't feel evil though... just weird._

Crescent scoffed. _"If it was haunted I'm sure the specter would have already started to pester you by now."_

_Don't remind me._

"You'll have to teach me that move you pulled on Trent." Mikaela said breaking Cassie away from her conversation.

"Ex boyfriend?"

"Unfortunately." Mikaela said with a grim smile. "I keep telling the guy that it is over between the two of us but you know how guys are, they're all dogs after one thing."

"You know we can hear you right?" Sam pointed out from his position in the passenger seat.

"Well remember what Ratchet's first assumption of you was-"

"Eh no! You promised that we would never talk about that ever again." Sam cut Mikaela off.

"And let's not forget what your mom-"

"Mikaela!"

Cassie chuckled. "I guess I'm lucky that I never had to deal with that problem.."

"Really?"

"Well when your father wears a gun with a full magazine and uses a welding torch at work every day it kind of scares the guys away. After all no one hits on a cop's daughter, especially one that has access to a fully equipped garage of power tools."

"..." Mikaela blinked at her. "What on earth did he do for a living?"

"My uncle was a mechanic for the Detroit PD." Sam filled in for Cassie. "He went through the academy and everything but he was a better mechanic than a beat cop. But get on his bad side..."

"... Sam... Why is there an ambulance outside your house?" Cassie asked as they passed the street and turned into the alley.

"Oh that's just Ratchet. He's a friend of the family." Sam said as Bee pulled into the driveway.

"Ratchet?" Cassie got out of the car with a sigh as soon as she was away from it. _I think I'm going to have to walk to school from now on... That thing gives me the heebie jeebies..._

_"You and me both." _

"Yep."

"And here I though some of the guys at the precinct had weird names..." Cassie muttered as she continued on into the house as the other three headed for the front yard. She spotted the note on the counter lying next to her pill container. She glared at the much hated thing as she read Judy's stern note about taking the pills and that she and Ron wouldn't be home until late.

_"Might as well take them." _Crescent prodded her.

_All they do is numb the pain... it's still there no matter what. _Cassie thought as she glared at the pills before swallowing the pills. _I really don't need the damned things._

_"Have you looked at that ambulance?" _Crescent said as she peeked out the window. _"It's got an aura just like the car."_

"Well ambulances do carry more chances for ghosts Crescent." Cassie said as she opened the refrigerator. "Meat, meat, and meat... Geez she must have used all of the fresh veggies last night... Hm... Maybe pasta..." Cassie said switching to the cupboards.

_"Sucks to be you." _Crescent commented as she noted what she deemed as 'bachelor chow'. _"Not a healthy thing in sight that isn't meatless..."_

_Just shut up. _Cassie pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to have to bug Sam for cash to go to the store or for at least a meatless pizza... Thank god she wasn't completely vegan... "Come on lets go see if they've fixed the spazz's nose."

She opened the front door and made her way down the steps before finally looking up to catch sight of the day glow yellow ambulance. "Dear lord that is a retina burning color..." she winced at both the color of the vehicle and the irritated aura she felt coming off of the vehicle.

Crescent snickered. _"Yeah I can just see someone screaming 'it burns!' as they crash from seeing the brightness of it..."_

"Seriously you shouldn't have let him get into the fight in the first place Bee." A gruff older man's voice scolded loudly from the inside of the ambulance. There was a yelp and Cassie raised a brow at the wrench that landed on the pavement.

_"Gee what was the whole medic's credo thing again?" _

"Do no harm or something or other but don't ask me that credo I'm lucky that I can remember 'To Serve and Protect' Crescent." Cassie muttered as she walked over and picked up the wrench. She shook her head and raised her voice. "3/8ths... nice weight to her. You know these things are meant to fix things right? They're not to be thrown at people." She said as she turned toward the ambulance.

The man bandaging Sam glared over at her as she held up the wrench. She blinked at his glaring blue eyes and took in his appearance from the lab coat to the glasses perched on his nose, and the well groomed salt and pepper hair.

"I only throw them at idiots. I would not intentionally hurt someone who didn't deserve it." he said as he released Sam who was gingerly rubbing the rest of his face from the medics rough treatment used to reset his nose.

_"Still makes me wonder how often he does throw that thing..."_

_"Often enough." _

Cassie let out a squeak which she quickly hid as a sneeze, before glancing at the dark skinned man that was sitting on one of the benches in the ambulance.

_"Well you were right about the ghost thing sis I'll give ya that point." _ Crescent blinked at the other spirit.

_Great... just great... _

_"Wait... ya can see meh?"_

"I so hate you Crescent." Cassie hissed under her breath.


	3. Chapter 2: Not Another Ghost

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), and Khalthar for fave/follow/reviewing... **

**It makes me happy to know that someone out there is reading this, and I can only hope that you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

_Thoughts/Cassie thinking at Crescent _Dreams and memories will be headed...

_"Blah" Ghosts speaking_

_:Comlink: _

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Last time..._

_"Wait... ya can see meh?" _

_"I so hate you Crescent." Cassie hissed under her breath._

_~x~_

_~x~_

The dark skinned spirit walked around the people in the ambulance and leapt down in front of Crescent and Cassie. The former was poking the other spirit with a weird look on her face.

_"'ey that tickles!" _The other spirit edged away from her as he gazed at the two of them through dark sunglasses with his bright blue eyes. Cassie noted the silver jacket, black muscle shirt and jeans that he was wearing lacked any kind of blood unlike some of the ghosts she had seen in the past. His dark hair was in tasteful cornrows, each capped off in silver beads.

_Crescent stop poking him._

_"But are you not seeing this? He's weird..."_

_"'ey!"_

_No pissing off the other ghosts I don't want an incident like that one time. _Cassie glared. She watched Crescent give her the finger which had the other ghost laughing. Before she could reply a hand came down on her head and started to give her a noogie.

"Wakey wakey..." Sam said loudly dragging her back to the real conversation. Cassie squirmed under his grip.

"Damn it Sam if you don't let me go I swear I will throw ice water in your bed the next time you sleep in." she growled as she finally escaped from his grasp. He laughed as she yanked her hair tie out and began to fix her hair. "You know I hate it when someone touches my hair."

"Oh come on Cass it's not like it harms you."

"Jerk." She said with a glare. She risked a quick glimpse over at Crescent who was still talking to the other ghost.

"Let me introduce you to Ratchet Cassie." Sam pulled her over in front of the man who was talking to Bee. "Ratchet this is my cousin Cassandra."

"Cassie." she supplied with a sour glance at Sam before holding her hand out. The man took her hand with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you miss Cassandra. Samuel was telling me about you before you came out of the house."

Cassie shot Sam a glare.

_"Oohh I know that look... you wanna throat punch him don't you?" _Crescent commented as she came over and leaned against her. _"Could I do it? I'm really sick and tired of him telling everyone you're nuts for seeing me."_

_"Ya can't be serious.." _ghost gave the two of them a dubious look.

Crescent shrugged. _"Seeing ghosts isn't common. Nor is it believed in by most cultures or scientifically backed in any way Jazz."_

_Jazz? Great now you're on a first name basis?_ Cassie fought hard not to groan aloud.

_"Eh." _Crescent shrugged again.

"Yoohoo."

"Sam get that hand out of my face. I'm only zoning out from my fricking meds." Cassie said in an attempt to cover her glares at Crescent and the other ghost. "Look I only came out here to tell you that Ron and Judy left a note saying that they won't be back till late. So I figured I'd order a 'Za, but to do so I need cash."

Sam began to fish out his wallet and handed her a twenty. She raised a brow. "I hope you don't mind veggies you carnivore." she commented before he grumbled and pulled out another twenty. "Thanks." she said as she turned and headed back to the house.

_"'ey hol' up for meh!" _'Jazz' called as he followed her and Crescent around the house.

"Damn it Crescent what have I told you time and time again?" Cassie growled as soon as they were out of earshot of the others.

_"I'm sorry?"_

"I should salt the damned doors to keep you out."

_"Salt? Wha' do ya need salt for?" _Jazz blinked.

Crescent blinked at him. _"You must not have been dead for too long now have you? Salt is a ward against spirits."_

"In other words it will keep _you _out." she said with a glare.

_"Ah ain't gonna harm ya."_

"That's nice to know but it still doesn't mean I trust you." Cassie said as she went back into the house. Leaving the two spirits standing out in the yard.

_"So how is it that she can see us?"_

_"Me." _Crescent said with a nonexistent sigh. _"You can't see it can you?" _The blonde haired ghost said with a sad smile.

_"You're twins..."_

_"Yep."_

_"But... how is she still alive if you're dead? That doesn't make sense..." _

Crescent looked at the other spirit, the glowing sphere of blue energy almost blindingly bright. _"You're not normal are you?"_

_"Now wha' gave tha' away?"_

_"You better not harm anyone here or I will make you regret it." _Crescent said her eyes narrow.

_"Ah meant wha' Ah said 'bout not harmin' anyone. It's against my code of honah." _The orb said as it pulsed brightly.

_"Just what are you anyways?"_

_"Ah'm one of a kind." _Jazz grinned.

_~x~_

Bee pov~

~x~

"Medications?" Ratchet asked as the brunette girl stalked off to the house.

"Cassie suffered from a few psychological disorders... Schizophrenia, depression, bipolarism, and ADHD. She's pretty heavily medicated for her depression and the schizophrenia." Sam supplied as Ratchet hmmed in response.

_:Odd one that youngling...: _

_:She didn't seem 'spaced out' like she claimed.: _Bee replied over the comlink. _:In fact she's having a one sided argument with herself back here.:_

_:Oh?:_

_:Something about salt and keeping someone out... after she scolded 'Crescent'.:_

_:Crescent?:_

_:Ask Sam.:_

"Samuel... just who is Crescent?" Ratchet glanced over at the teen.

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "My cousin Artemis, she was Cassie's twin sister. She died about five years ago... It's also the name for Cassie's alternate personality..."

Ratchet hmmed again.

~x~

~xTimeSkipx~

~Cassie's pov~

~x~Dream sequence~x~

_Blood coated her fingers as she clutched her sister's hand... "Crescent stay with me... Just hold on please.." She wept, her gray eyes flowing with tears as she cried and squirmed in the crushed vehicle, trying to reach her twin._

_"Cassie..."_

_The paramedics finally wrenched the door closest to her off the mangled frame of the vehicle. "Hold on sweetie you're going to be okay..." a voice told her as they cut the twisted metal away from her body._

_"No help her help my sister please!"_

_"They're working on it..."_

_"Please!" she cried._

_I'm sorry Cassie..._

_"Artemis!"_

_~x~_

Cassie sat straight up on her bed, drenched in a cold sweat. With shaking hands she wiped the tears in her eyes as arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders...

_"it's okay Cassie I'm right here..." _

"Crescent..." She sobbed, a deep ache in her chest sprung up as she tried to fight of the nightmare...

_"Shh... just let it go..."_

Tears welled in her eyes as she curled in on herself, trying to steady her breathing. A quick glance the clock told her what she already knew, that it was five in the morning... The same time that she woke from her nightmare every day... The same time that her twin had died that god cursed foggy morning...

_"Are ya okay?" _

_He's still here? _Her eyes shot to the corner where Jazz was currently lounging. _Why didn't he go with the ambulance?_

_"He said he wasn't tethered to it... and that he'd figured he'd hang out here with Bee and Sam for a few days before going back to shadowing his other friends." _Crescent grinned as she poked at Jazz. _"Besides, I get to hang out with someone besides you for a change."_

_"Ya know that usin' your twin bond to talk is cheatin' right? It leaves me outta da loop." _Jazz complained.

"That's your loss then." Cassie said as she uncurled from her position and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "I might as well get up. You." she pointed to Jazz. "Out. I am not getting dressed in front of you."

_"Bashful are we?" _A bright grin was flashed at her slight blush.

"Get out. Both of you. I'll meet you down in the yard in five Crescent." Cassie said as she pulled her clothes for the day out.

_"Morning warm up?"_

"But of course."

~Bee Pov~

Bumblebee onlined his processors when the girl had exited the house and slowly made her way to the dew kissed ground with a sigh as she stared at the predawn sky with a smile. "Just perfect... though I think it will rain later today... I can smell the petricor on the wind..." she trailed off.

Bee half considered activating his holoform when she glared over to her right with an irritated expression on her face as she snapped, "Yes I'm fine with wearing black I don't plan on getting caught in the freaking rain Crescent." her expression turned sour. "Look just shut it. The both of you." Cassie glared again before sighing and beginning to stretch.

_Both? _Bee blinked his hidden optics. _Now she is talking to someone else? _He thought absentmindedly as she finally began running through a whirling set of moves: punches, kicks, ducks, rolls... if he didn't know any better he'd swear that she was actually sparring with someone...

She gave a yelp and twisted to the side as her eyes darted from side to side. "Two against one is cheating..."

Bee sighed as he gave into his curiosity and activated his holoform.

~Cassie pov~

Cassie had just evaded a feint when Jazz leapt into their sparring match with a grin as he tag teamed her with Crescent. The twosome were circling her as she growled, "Two against one is cheating..."

"Who are you talking to?"


	4. Chapter 3: School Sucks

Holy cannoli! 20 follows and 13 faves?! T-T I feel loved!

That's a lot of people to thank so here's the list:

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, and wordgeek1000 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee Thank you so much!**

**It makes me happy to know that someone out there is reading this, and I can only hope that you like it!**

**Note I cracked just under 2600 words for this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

x~

~Cassie pov~

~x~

Cassie froze as if someone had dunked her into a vat of ice water, her face going pale at the sound of Bee's voice. She spun to face him, her eyes wide as she took in his stance as he leaned against the Camaro, arms crossed, one of his blonde brows arched in inquiry.

_Shit! How long has he been standing there?! _Cassie cursed mentally as she tried to think of anything to say, her mind a complete blank.

_"Don't ask me... I was too busy with you..."_

Jazz blinked at Crescent. _"Ah'm still outta the loop here... Wha's she wantin' ta know?"_

_"How long he's been standing there."_ Crescent supplied query.

_"Bee's been there da whole time..."_

"Well? Are you going to answer me?" Bee's voice brought Cassie's attention from the ghosts.

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? It's not like you don't think I'm crazy with the rest of the general consensus in this household." she said before turning around and heading back to the house.

He grabbed her wrist as he said quietly, "Maybe I don't." She met his eyes with a nervous glance as he leaned in closer. "So tell me who are you talking to?"

"Like you'd believe me." Cassie said as she jerked her hand free.

Bee grinned. "Try me."

"CASSIE!" Judy barged out the door, irritation radiating off her in waves as her gaze narrowed at the girl. "Damn it Cassandra, I am going to have to make it a rule about sneaking out of the house before the sun rises?"

_Oh thank god... _Cassie slipped away from Bee and made her way nervously to the house as Judy gave Bee a cold look over her niece's shoulder.

Cassie went through her morning motions as the rest of the household had made their way downstairs and on to their own breakfasts. She avoided eye contact with Bee as he eyed her over the table. She knew she was prolonging the inevitable... Especially since Jazz kept pointing it out every five minutes.

_"Oh come on... ya could tell 'im the truth... Bee's not one ta judge anyone. Trust meh." _Jazz said as she picked up her book bag. Cassie shot him a glare as she bounded back down the stairs. "Catch you later Aunt Judy." she called as she slipped out of the house before her aunt could question why she was leaving before Sam and Bee.

_"Ya know he's just goin' ta ask ya until you cave."_

"I don't care. I don't need to be treated anymore like a freak than I already am." Cassie growled.

_"You are not a freak Cass." _Crescent grumbled.

"And normal people see ghosts everyday." Cassie retorted venomously.

A horn beeped as the Camaro rolled up beside her as Sam rolled down the window. "Cassie!"

"Samuel."

"You know my mom just about glitched when she realized that you took off without waiting for me and Bee." Sam said as the car kept up a slow pace beside her.

"Well I decided to walk to school. It's healthier for me." Cassie said trying to ignore the goose bumps on her arms. Bee was staring at her from the corners of his eyes. "Besides I needed some fresh air anyways..."

Crescent snorted. _ "If you consider your daily intake of exhaust and airborne contaminates _fresh _air."_

_Shut up Crescent. _

"Look just get in Cassie. Don't make me drag you in to the car." Sam said with a glare.

Cassie stopped and turned to the car as it stopped moving. "I am walking to school. And if you don't want me to tell Aunt Judy _and _Mikaela about your porn stash in your closet and the smut magazines under your bed then you will keep going and leave me alone if you know what's good for you Sam." She said icily as she spun on her heels and continued walking down the sidewalk, leaving Sam gaping like a fish.

_"Now tha' was cold."_ Jazz commented.

"Blackmail is the best trump card, thanks again for the dirt Crescent." Cassie grinned.

_"My pleasure... though I'm going to have to keep digging if you want to keep one ace against Sam." _Crescent chirped merrily.

~x~

Cassie was over joyed that Sam and Bee didn't have the same schedule as her, however the same couldn't be said for Trent DeMarco who spent the two classes that she had with him shooting spitballs at her. The highlight of her day? When she ducked and he nailed the teacher in the chest, twice.

Of course she had a minor blessing when Crescent spent the better part of the day quietly conversing with Jazz. Though he had to wonder how much the two could really talk about... When she had asked Crescent what they were talking about Crescent just grinned and replied _"Life."_

A completely ironic topic for two ghosts to be talking about...

Lunch was... worse. She had managed to find a quiet table in the back of the cafeteria to sit at only for Bee to find her. He had came into the cafeteria and instantly spotted her pointing her out to Sam before the blonde veered off from Sam and Mikaela and made his way over. She promptly glared at her tatter tots and ignored him as he sat down.

"So how's it going?"

"..."

Bee's smile didn't fade at her poignant ignoral of his presence. In fact he slid closer on the bench to her. "I hope your day isn't going as dismal as mine is really the education system is rather dumbing it down wouldn't you say?"

Cassie snorted. "That would be giving them a compliment. They have to dumb it down because of the whole NCLB act that was passed a few years ago. Most schools don't like having to tarnish their prestigious reputations with failing marks so they try to set the low bar for the idiots that aren't able to actually put their minds on something besides partying and shopping."

"Hmm..."

"Is there a reason you're bothering me?" she asked looking up from her tray.

"What a bot can't have a nice friendly conversation with you?"

Cassie frowned. "No. I know you're dying to restate your query from this morning. And the answer is no one. I was talking to no one."

"Now we both know that is not the truth. So do you want to try again?"

Cassie opened her mouth to snap at him when there was a set of trays plopped in front to them causing the two of them to jump. "Hey Cassie." Sam said with a glare.

"Samuel."

"You know you could call me Sam like everyone else." he said with a sigh.

"I do." Cassie said as grimaced at the sloppy joes that covered his tray. "Must you eat that in front of me?"

"You only call me Sam when you're pissed at me." he said taking a large bite out of one of his sandwiches.

"When it works it works." Cassie muttered as she looked away from him. She glanced over to Crescent who was listening intently to Jazz. Cassie's brow twitched as she noted that this was probably the longest that Crescent had paid attention to anyone in a long time...

Crescent must have caught the tail end of her train of thought because she turned and stuck her tongue out at her earning a smile from Cassie. _Must have been some interesting life Jazz had._

_"You have no idea." _Crescent grinned. _"Did you know that he was the leader of Special Ops in his army?"_

Cassie raised a brow. "Yeah right."

"Earth to Cassie come in Cassie..." Sam joked when she turned to him with a dark glare. "Welcome back from lollipop land."

"Jerk." Cassie growled as she bristled from the taunt.

"Hey I can't help it if you're such a space cadet."

_"Why that little brat..." _Crescent growled.

"Say Mikaela, did Sam ever tall you how he got that faint scar above his eyebrow there?" Cassie said sweetly. She smirked as she noticed Sam's nostrils flared as he got a 'don't you dare' look in his eyes.

Mikaela and Bee both glanced at Sam's face. "Mm no I never noticed it before..."

Her grin widened. "Well he got that the first time he got his first ten speed bike. He wasn't paying attention as he thought he was all big and bad doing stunts, and his price was kissing the stop sign and seven stitches."

"No way."

"Way. Plus he cried-"

Sam cut her off as he spazzed. "I did not cry. There was no crying involved."

"You know just before we started going out he did this awesome crashing back flip on the sidewalk while ridding his mother's bicycle." Mikaela snickered.

Cassie grinned. "Not the pink one."

"Yes!" Mikaela and Cassie crowed with laughter as Sam blushed, his ears turning a deep red as Bee smirked.

"Yeah well if Bee hadn't been acting all weird and creepy I wouldn't have done that." Sam said in his defense.

"Oh yeah blame it on me." Bee chuckled.

The bell sounded and the foursome made their way out to their next classes.

~x~

~Crescent pov~

~x~

Crescent had to admit that it was a nice change of pace talking to someone besides Cassie... Even if the other spirit kind of put her on edge... It wasn't everyday that she came across one that shone _that _bright... The other spirit was pure energy and it set her on edge ever so slightly... but what had caught her attention the about Jazz was that his aura was similar to that of the Camaro... Similar but not the same...

_"Say Jazz... you asked me why I'm still here..."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Why are you still here?"_

Jazz hmmed as he thought it over. _"Ah'm not really sure... Normally when one o my people offline we go to the Well o Allsparks... Ah was kinda surprised ta find mehself stuck 'ere... Primus must have kicked meh out or somethin'."_

Crescent raised a brow. _"I highly doubt that you were kicked outta heaven."_

_"Ya neva know... Ah mean how else do ya explain meh still bein' here?"_

Crescent frowned and bit her lip. _That is a very good question... "Maybe you weren't meant to die? Or perhaps you're tethered to someone that's still alive... Like maybe your soulmate or something..."_

_"... Ah jus' don't know..."_

Crescent noted the sad and resigned tone in Jazz's voice and decided to switch the topic with,_ "So.. what kind of music do you like?"_

~x~

~Cassie's pov~

~x~

Cassie bolted for the door as the last bell rang. She made no time in making her way to her locker as she kept a wary eye out for Bee. She did not want to get caught by either him or Sam before she could get halfway home. More importantly not having to ride in that Camaro...

She made it halfway across the parking lot before a hand came down on her shoulder. Cassie let out a sigh and turned to find Trent standing there. "Going somewhere Cooper?"

"Oh dear he can learn names. What other tricks can you do?" Cassie glared at him. She pulled herself from his grasp and glared up at him. Crescent turned from her current conversation with Jazz to glare in their direction at her tone.

_"What does he want?"_

"How about the fact that I read your files..." He grinned as he held up a folder. Cassie recognized the file... it was the same one her Aunt Judy had given Sam to give to the secretary...

"Where did you get that?" She hissed, her face paling slightly...

_"That bastard..." _Crescent glared at the jock with full hatred in her aura as she made her way over to Cassie.

"Oh I have my ways... Now... What would you do to get these back?" He grinned.

"How about I not slice your dick off with a blunt butter knife?" Crescent growled through Cassie's lips before she could stop her.

"Pity." Trent said holding up his phone. "I was so hoping you'd say anything else... But.. Oh well..." his thumb pressed a button. "No hiding how crazy are now bitch."

Cassie and Crescent let out a growl as she flung herself at Trent...

~x~

~Sam pov~

~x~

Sam sighed as they gave up searching for Cassie in the school. "My mom is so going to rip me a new one if we don't find her..."

"Cheer up, it could be worse Sam... It's not like Cassie doesn't know her way to the house." Bee pointed out.

"Yeah, well..." His phone beeped and incoming text. Thinking it was Mikaela texting him about finding Cassie he pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the file. "Oh no..."

Bee poked his head over Sam's shoulder as he read the file... "Oh slag..."

"We've gotta find Cassie."

Bee's eyes flickered for a second. "There's some sort of commotion going on at the front of the school... If I had to guess..."

"There's no guessing come on Bee." Sam said as he took off at a run.

"Sam!" Mikaela met up with them as they managed to get out of the building. "Did you get this text about-"

"Yeah If I had to guess the whole school did." Sam said as he spotted the large mass of bodies near the street. Teachers were beginning to make their way through group yelling at kids that shoved them back. The chirping sound of a squad car broke through the roar of the enmassed teens, which scattered upon hearing the siren.

Sam, Bee, and Mikaela froze upon hearing the police car, only moving forward as Bee confirmed that it was not Barricade. The crowd had dispersed enough for them to catch sight of the teachers pulling a somewhat battered Cassie off of a somewhat bloodied Trent DeMarco.

Claw marks bled prominently on the jocks face as well as his bright shiners to match. Blood was also trickling out of his mouth and his swollen lips were most likely from her getting a couple jawline hits in. His left ear was bleeding from bite marks... There was also a few lines from the girl's nails on his arms.

Cassie was screaming curses at the jock as the teachers separated them. Sam could see the start of a black eye on his cousin's face, a bloody nose, and the bruises on her arms and legs from where Trent had fought back.

"Cassie!" Sam called as he tried to get around the teachers.

~x~

~Cassie Pov~

~x~

"-ich! I swear to god I've known dirty cops with more integrity than you... you spineless ape! If you ever talk to me again I will rip your trachea out with my bare hands!" Crescent screamed from Cassie's lips as hand pulled her away from the boy. She struggled against the hands holding her.

"Cassie!" Sam's voice brought her back to reality.

Cassie blinked as their anger faltered and Crescent lost her grip on her twin. She blinked through her painful black eye as the adrenaline left her, and the pain from bruises that were beginning to form hit her.

_"Oh god Cassie I'm so sorry..."_

_It's my own fault Crescent... _Cassie thought as she let the teachers drag her away.

"Cassie." Sam said as he caught up to her. "I called my mom."

Cassie smiled weakly at Sam. "Judy's going to kill me..." she said as the teachers led her back into the school.


	5. Chapter 4: Girl Time

**Sweet Priums! This story's at 24 faves and 32 follows! TwT I am so happy! *Dance happy dance***

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**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, and valeries26 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou!**

**It makes me happy to know that someone out there is reading this, and I can only hope that you like it! Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter word count: 2745 Whoo!**

**Note: his chapter's kinda fillerish... *dodges rotten tomatoes being flung by Crescent***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**~x~**

~Crescent's Pov~

~x~

To say that Judy was mad was an understatement. By the time she was done at the school, everyone was cowering in fear of the woman. But none more than Cassie herself, and the bully that had started it all... Everyone saw the relief that was written all over Trent's face as the police hauled him away in their squad car. And even though no one could see her themselves even Crescent was also impressed with Judy's fury. She had hovered in silence as Judy tore Cassie a new one.

_"This is my fault..." _Crescent sighed later on as she hovered outside of Cassie's room, she and Jazz were currently shut out ot the room thanks to the lline of salt that Cassie had thrown across the doorway as she stormed her way in her abeyance of Judy's punishment. "_All of this."_

Jazz caressed the other spirit's shoulder, she shuddered at his touch. "_Ya can't blame yaself Crescent."_

Irritation flared throughout her aura. _"But it is. Cassie would have none of these problems if it wasn't for __**me**__. Heck she wouldn't even see you if it wasn't for me... Ever since I died, her life has been a mess. They all think she's crazy because of me... The only one that ever believed that I existed was our dad..." _Crescent's voice took a sad tone as she settled on the floor, her back against the door.

_"Aw sweetspark don' cry."_

_"This is hell..." _she whispered as she curled in on herself.

Jazz felt sparkbroken at the femme's tone. He debated on what he could possibly say to the girl but found himself without words... Her words were almost dead on... _this _was the Pit. Jazz had been dead little over six months and it almost drove him insane with the fact that all he could do was watch his comrades go into battle... able to see them fight and bleed, only able to offer his prayers for their safety to the unhearing audios of Primus... Because as much as Jazz hated to admitted it, if Primus really did care why was he stuck here in limbo and not in the Well?

Jazz settled next to Crescent and slung a tendril of his energy over the girl's shoulders.

~X~

~Timeskip~

~Still Crescent's Pov~

~x~

It had been two days since the incident and Cassie had yet to speak to anyone in the house, Crescent included. As it was she was banished to her room considering that she had been suspended, her laptop and cell phone confiscated by the still P.O. Judy. She spent her time listening to her mp3 player and working on her homework which Sam gave her ceremoniously when she was summoned downstairs for her afternoon round of psych drugs.

She had finally dusted the salt line the night before but she had still yet to say anything. And it was irritating Crescent. Heck, Cassie made as little eye contact with either of them as possible.

_"She's ignoring us." _Crescent grumbled.

_"Maybe she jus needs time ta get over her humiliation at da hands of that punk."_

_"Maybe but she needs to talk or she'll just repress herself even more..." _Crescent sighed. They sat in silence for several more minutes before a devious grin came over her face. _"Say Jazz would you like to see a neat trick?"_

_"Why do Ah have a feelin' dat Cassie's gonna go off on ya?"_

_"Oh hush and watch." _Crescent said as she crept up behind her unsuspecting twin. She held herself ever so still as she leaned in close, gripping the cord to the headphones before screeching, _"CASSIE!"_ at a pitch the even hurt Jazz's audios as it blasted through the speakers.

Cassie jolted back as she yanked off the headphones with a yelp before glaring at her twin who grinned sheepishly. "Damn it Crescent you know I hate it when you do that..." she grumbled as she rubbed her sore ears.

_"Wha was dat?"_

_"Sorry I was just teaching Jazz about white noise."_

_Oh great, just what we need another poltergeist. _Cassie thought sourly as she slid on her phones and sighed. "Great you fried them. You realize that I've only got one pair left."

The door opened to reveal Judy who smiled weakly at Cassie who just turned her head back to her homework. "Cassie." The woman said as she stepped into the room. "How are you feeling?"

Cassie kept her gaze fixed to the algebra book in front of her not offering any reaction to her aunt.

"Look I just came to say that I'm sorry that I was so hard on you... I figured I'd let you know that we are going to press charges on that DeMarco kid..." Judy sat on the bed and stared at Cassie's unmoving form.

"Goodie. Now if you don't mind I'm trying to finish my homework." Cassie finally looked at Judy, annoyance written clearly over her face.

Judy just smiled brighter at her niece's glare. "You remind me so much of your dad you know. He always gave me that glare when I'd pester him."

Cassie set her jaw as she turned back to her paperwork... fighting hard not to think about her father. "Just please leave me alone."

"I just wanted to remind you that Me and Ron are leaving on our three day trip tonight. I stocked the fridge with a ton of veggies and I expect you to not burn down the house while we are gone. And to stay inside. No internet, no t.v., no phone calls." Judy said as she stood up.

"Gee I feel so special... Wait... where's Sam?"

"The boys had to go in for work. They won't be back until Sunday night. So I expect you to obey my rules and be on your best behavior."

Cassie's eye twitched as she bit down her retort of _I'm not a child._

Crescent snickered at Cassie's retort. _"Yeah but you're not an adult either."_

_Neither are you. _

"Cassandra!" Judy snapped at her.

"Yes ma'am." Cassie quickly agreed to whatever Judy had ever been badgering her about now. "I can do that."

"Thanks." Judy said as she set the house key in front of the teen. "Don't make me regret leaving you here without a babysitter.

This time Cassie had to bite her tongue as her aunt closed the door behind her.

~x~

~Sam's Pov~

~x~

"Samuel."

Sam cringed at the gentle baritone. "Optimus, I told you to just call me Sam."

"My apologies."

"It's okay... So um what did you need to talk to me about?"

Optimus regarded the human boy on his desk with a curious expression on his face plates. "Bumblebee informed me about your cousin. I am also aware about your wishes to keep her in the dark about us. I only wanted to ask you if you truly think that is wise young Sam."

Sam let loose a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair before looking Optimus in the optics. "I don't know. I mean, she isn't in the most... _stable_ state of mind as it is, and I just don't she'll find aliens a good way to judge her sanity. If anything I'd be worried that she'll repress herself even more than what she already is."

"And if the Decepticons decide to target you and your family? Wouldn't you think it wise for her to at least be minorly informed?"

Sam bit his lip as he looked down at his feet. "I.. I just don't know..."

~x~

~Rachet's Pov~

~x~

Ratchet vented as sigh as he went over the datafiles that Bee had sent him from Sam's cell phone. While the files only covered the barest skim of the girl's psychological issues. Most of which apparently had cropped up when the girl's twin had perished in an accident five years ago... Bee had sworn up and down that the girl wasn't just talking to herself as everyone was certain of. But if she was truly talking to her twin...

_Ghosts aren't real._ Ratchet thought to himself. But even as he thought this there was still a lingering _what if _in the back of his mind... his knowledge on twins bubbling to the forefront of his processors... he had to keep in mind that human twins couldn't easily be compared to cybertronian twins... but what he'd read on the internet seemed to match up to the cybertronian equivalent... even if the humans considered the connection be tween twins impossible and fake.

It all matched up except for death... Here in this organic species if one of the twins died the other didn't necessarily perish with it's other half...

If the girl really was talking to her other half... He could only imagine the pain the youngling was in from being technically separated from her other half...

_At least her schizophrenia and her depression is explained... But it still doesn't explain her being bipolar..._

Ratchet vented a sigh again. The girl was a mystery...

~x~

~Cassie's Pov~

~x~

Saturday came and went in utter boredom. She fell into her old study habits learned from when she was homeschooled and actually managed to get a head of herself before Crescent's instant poking interrupted her.

_"Oh come on I'm bored! Just turn on the tv! Pop a dvd in! I am dying watching you crunch all those numbers..."_

Cassie pursed her lips. "Crescent you know that if Judy finds out-"

Crescent scoffed. _"Like me or Jazz are going to tell her that you broke the house rules for your punishment."_

_"Eh... waht she said. 'sides who else is gonna know?"_

Cassie raised a brow. "I guess you've got a point... So um... How about some Fullmetal Panic?"

_"Make it Fumofuu and you gotta deal sis."_

_"... Fullmetal Panic?"_ Jazz blinked as the twins turned with wide grins on their faces.

_"Never mind make it a full marathon..."_ Crescent smiled.

~x~

~Cassie's Pov~

~x~

To say the least Jazz had been amused by the show. Granted it had been confusing at times but Crescent just explained the bits that had him stumped. Cassie listened to the two spirits laugh and converse the evening away, as she slowly wondered just how old Jazz really was.

Crescent had told her that he was _different... _Granted Cassie could feel it... But she couldn't see him as her twin could. The way he talked was somewhere between a gangster's lisp and an gentleman's elegance. He didn't appear to have been old enough to have been Third In Command in an army like Crescent had told her... Nor a Special Ops agent... He just seemed too... _cheerful_ for that... But looking at him as he talked about his comrades... there was a shadow in the spirit's eyes that held some of that inherent darkness...

But there was a sadness in those eyes... A pain she recognized from being around Crescent. Regret, frustration, sorrow... He was bound to something or someone still here... but... if he was older than she thought... then how on earth could that tether still be there?

Cassie fell asleep listening to the two of them talk, trying to sort her thoughts out.

~x~

Sunday morning dawned for Cassie with someone beating on the door. Groaning she stretched from her sitting position on the couch, listening to her back protest the movement as she got to her feet. She made her way to the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she peeked through the peephole to see Mikaela standing there with a smile.

Cassie opened the door and put on a weak smile for Mikaela. "Hey there Kae."

Mikaela blinked at the nickname. "Kae? I thought you hated nicknames?"

"While I might be more inclined to call someone by their parentally assigned names, I have no true issue with calling someone by a nickname. Save for Samuel of course. I like seeing him squirm from my casual use of his full name." Cassie grinned. "Also I had a friend named Mikaela back home."

"I see..."

"Is there something I can help you with Mikaela?" Cassie said after a minute of silence.

"Um well... I was kind of curious if you could show me some of those self-defense moves that you promised me."

Cassie blinked at Mikaela. "You do realize that I'm grounded for like eternity right?"

"Which is why I already called and asked Judy if she needed someone to check in on you." Mikaela grinned.

"Come on we can practice in the back yard." Cassie pulled the door behind her and the y started to walk around the house. "Okay so tell me that you've at least seen Ms. Congeniality."

"Who hasn't?"

"Oh goodie. So I can go ahead and skip the SING method." Cassie grinned.

"You mean that actually works?"

"Of course... If you put enough force into it."

~x~

~Sam's pov~

~x~

"So when are you guys making the move to Diego Garcia?" Sam asked quietly.

"They're making them switch bases by the end of the month." Bee said quietly. "Since I'm assigned to you I won't be going."

"Are you sure you really don't want to?" Sam blinked at the blonde holoform.

Bee shook his head. "I wouldn't be stuck playing 'school' anymore if I did, but Sam I would never leave you... Even if I have to suffer the nightmare you call high school."

"Oh come on it's not that bad."

"You're right. I can feel the data in my processors die slowly as I try to avoid the oh what did Mikaela call it.. Ah yes 'googoo' eyes that the femmes in your school shoot me all the time." Bee said dryly as he pulled into the alleyway.

"It could be worse... It could be the guys."

Bee shot Sam a sour look. "There have been a few of those as well."

Sam snorted as Bee turned into the driveway and they found themselves staring the interesting sight of Mikeala being grappled by his cousin, the smaller girl clinging to his girl friend's back hands firmly planted over the other girl's bosom as she clung to Mikaela as the taller girl struggled to get out of her grip.

"Come on Kae get me off of ya. If you can't get me off how the hell do you plan to stop a male predator? By batting those baby blues at him and hoping they'll let you go? Maybe by flashing hi-" Cassie was cut off as Mikaela slammed her head into the other girl's jaw. Cassie's grip loosened enough for Mikaela to twist out of the her grip. Mikaela lashed out with her legs in a kick which Cassie managed to dodge.

"Not bad. I would say lets continue but it looks like we have an audience." Cassie turned to the staring boys. "Oh dear is that dribble on Samuel's chin I see?" Cassie grinned.

"Oh I'm sure he's got his mind stuck on some girl on girl action..." Mikaela snickered.

Cassie snorted. "Pervert's the both of ya." she accused the boys as they finally blinked and got out of the Camaro.

Sam stuck his tongue out at the brunette. "Aren't you supposed to be inside?"

Cassie's expression went dead serious. "Yeah what of it? Gonna tell Judy? Stab me in the back? Just remember I know where you two sleep. And I do have a bottle of habanero sauce that I'm not afraid to use." Sam blinked at her palely, his eye wide, for a good long ten seconds before she snickered. "I'm kidding sheesh... You can't seriously be that scared of me."

"I saw what you did to Trent." Sam shuddered as he smiled at her. "So... I take it Mom gave you permission to see the sun once more."

"Gotta have my vitamin D. Besides I did promise Kae here that I would help her with her self defense moves."

Sam blinked. "Wait Kae? You can call Mikaela by a nickname but not me?"

Cassie grinned. "That is correct Samuel."


	6. Chapter 5: Fun? Puh-lease

**Welcome back for chapter five everybody!**

**I hate to say it but this chapter is 90% filler... but aftermath of what happened in chapter 3 has to be explained... v_v; Though things will be picking up here in the next chapter... **

**The list has grown some more! Yay! XD.**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, and TatteredAngel 42 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou!**

**Word count for this chapter about 2375.**

* * *

Chapter 5

~Ron's pov~

~x~

Ron and Judy had had a wonderful day touring the vineyards... they had made it back to the hotel and had opened a bottle of wine. As they sat there talking about their plans for the next day Ron noticed that his wife was distracted... tense as she became lost in her thoughts... Ron had a nagging suspicion as to whom she was thinking about...

"Judy relax." Ron said as he messaged his wife's back. "The kids are alright."

"I know but... Cassie..." Judy sighed irritably.

"Cassie handled herself quite well against that kid if what you told me is true... I mean you can't blame the kid for freaking out on him. Heck sweetie I've seen you go off on our mail man with that bat of yours for stepping on your petunias. How is her getting to a fight with a punk any worse?" Ron chuckled as he thought back on the incident.

"Yeah I guess..."

"Well... what has you so on edge about the whole thing then sweetheart?" Ron said as he kissed his wife's neck.

"She bit his _ear... _What would possess her to bite the kids ear? Ugh." Judy shuddered.

~x~

~Cassie's Pov~

~x~

Cassie sighed as she sat on the a bench in the yard, her sketchbook in her lap, ear buds draped around her neck softly playing One Republic. Mikaela had abandoned her to her own devices hours ago, in lieu of spending time with Sam. Crescent was listening to Jazz talk about his life, the two ghosts opting for sitting on top of the Camaro. If Cassie hadn't known any better she would have sworn that the car was perturbed by their presence... It's aura subdued and irritated... Cassie snickered at the thought of the muscle car getting cold chills.

She sighed and looked down at her sketchbook, which portrayed the aforementioned ghosts in their current positions... But she was having trouble with the drawing. Jazz for one was not sitting still as he revelatory moved his hands about in his conversation... and for some reason it irritated her... Of course seeing as the car's 'personality' was almost bleeding as expressively as Jazz was. She decided to blame it all on the car.

_Don't be absurd... I doubt it's because of the cursed car._ She second guessed herself subconsciously.

_"Having trouble over there sis?"_

Cassie flipped Crescent the bird and went back to her drawing. Crescent laughed at her twin merrily before patting the hood of the car. _"Why don't you join us up here?"_

"Thanks but no thanks."

"Talking to yourself again?"

Cassie squeaked at she jumped at the sound of Bee's voice, her sketchbook slipping off her lap to land closed on the ground.. she turned to find him laughing silently at her. "Do I need to put a bell around your neck?" she glared.

"You wouldn't really put a bell on me would you?" Bee smiled.

Cassie blinked at him before blushing as the thought of him wearing a cat collar popped into her head. "Eh..."

Crescent caught wind of her thoughts and burst out laughing, tumbling from the car in the process. Cassie watched as Bee shivered slightly, and she glanced away to glare at her twin.

_"W-why don't y-you ha! add some ears and a leash as well?" _Crescent stuttered through her laughter.

_"Wha?" _Jazz blinked at Crescent.

Cassie flushed even more as said image plagued her mind's eye. _Damn you Crescent..._ Crescent's laughter increased.

"And just what are you thinking of?" Bee grinned slyly.

"N-nothing!" Cassie stuttered as she turned back and found him inches from her nose. Cassie yelped and fell off the bench. "Ow.."

"Scrap. I didn't mean to startle you, here let me help you." Bee said as he pulled her up into a sitting position. Cassie glared at Jazz who had also began to laugh.

"Uh... thanks..." Cassie said as she rubbed her head. "But maybe we should follow the bubble rule... And maybe you should make some noise... I swear you're practically a fricken ninja as quiet as you are."

Bee chuckled. "Trust me I'm not a ninja." He said a he picked up her discarded sketchbook. "May I?"

"Um... Sure?" she fidgeted as she glared at the two ghosts who were snickering at her. _Oh yeah keep yukking it up._

_"You're still blushing sis."_

_"Ya too cute y'kno tha?"_

"Shut up..." she hissed.

Bee chuckled and shook his head as he slowly flipped through the book. "Still talking to yourself?" Bee said as he came to the last page.

~x~

~Bee's Pov~

~x~

Bee blinked at the picture before him... Of two people sitting on his altmode. The femme appeared to be laughing at something that the dark skinned mech had said, his hand held almost expressively as his face, bright cheerful eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. The femme looked almost identical to Cassie, but her hair was not shaded darkly, leaving him the impression that she was not a brunette.

"Cassie... Is this Crescent?" Bee said as he glanced down at her. The girl wasn't looking at him but gazing sourly in the direction of his altmode. "Cassie?"

"... "

Bee knelt in the grass as he closed the book and held it out to her. "Well?"

"What if it is?" she said quietly.

The two of them sat there in the grass listening to the crickets as they began their chirping. "So... Crescent huh?" Bee eventually broke their silence.

Cassie sighed. "Look you don't have to believe me. Nobody else does..."

"I didn't say that I didn't believe you." Bee scratched his head. "It's just hard for me to process the possibility that ghosts really exist... I believe it's possible... but at the same time it's hard to believe that she didn't go on to the We- I mean Heaven."

Bee shivered as the weird tingling sensation had tickled his hood earlier, once more as it felt like someone had slipped their hand over his hood. _Fraggit what the heck is that?_

Cassie said nothing as she stared down at her sketchbook in her lap.

"You can tell she's your twin." He said quietly.

Cassie sighed before looking him in the eyes. "Look I don't know why you're making an effort to believe me..."

"Hey if aliens can exist then so can ghosts right?" Bee cocked a grin his eyes sparkling.

Cassie snickered. "Aliens? _Puh-lease._" Cassie didn't see the smile on Bee's face falter slightly, nor how his altmode sank sadly on his axles at her words...

They spent most of the evening talking about her and Crescent's childhood... about how close she had been to her twin. And about that morning five years prior that had started all of Cassie's problems... Eventually they ended up in the living room watching anime.

Cassie was sitting half propped up on the arm of the couch slightly zoned out as she began to drift off. Bee was looking over the sketch again his eyes focusing on the guy in the picture. There was something strangely familiar about the guy, something he couldn't put his servo on...

"Say Cassie..." Bee poked Cassie.

"Hm?" The girl mumbled from the arm of the couch..

"If the girl in your sketch is Crescent... Then who's the guy?"

Cassie mumbled something unintelligible into her arms as she curled up tighter on the couch to get away from his poking finger.

"Cassie?" Cassie remained quiet, and after a few minutes he realized she had finally drifted off into recharge.

He sighed in defeat.

~x~

~Cassie's Pov~

~x~

Things were... despondent at school the next day.. Cassie was under the constant stares of people and whispers from the other students were on par with a pit of snakes as loud as some of them were. So she spent her time ignoring them to the best of her abilities... though she was near her breaking point come third period when she opened her locker and out flooded a pile of pig ears and gummi ears.

_You have got to be freaking kidding me... how fricking immature can these pricks be?_

"I see you brought yourself a snack." Someone jeered as the kids surrounding her laughed.

Crescent growled as Cassie sighed and pulled out her textbooks. _Just ignore them. Giving them any notice will only sate their attempts to get under your skin..._ Cassie slammed the door to her locker shut and continued on avoiding any and all eye contact.

_"Of course you would say that..."_

_Say where's Jazz? _Cassie asked as she noted a distinct lack of the other spirit.

_"He went to go hang around Bee for the day..."_

_... _Cassie raised a brow but said nothing.

~x~

~Bee's Pov~

~x~

Bee couldn't stop thinking about the picture from the day before.. He had spoken with Sam that morning about said sketch but his charge had no notion as to who the person was. He had even sent a databurst to Ratchet, but the old medic didn't recall the mystery man either...

Bee sighed as he stared up at the clock. His 'classes' were divided between a mixture of both Sam's and Mikaela's classes. Mundane, boring and a little nerve grating... Bee hated the damnable lessons... especially since he didn't need to be here..

A shiver ran down his holoform's spine as someone ghosted a hand over his altmode... Switching his attention to his real body he scanned the area finding no one culprit for this feeling... one that was getting annoying each time it happened. Bee vented a sigh through his nose as he thought, _If this keeps up I'm going to have to cave in and get scanned by Ratchet..._

~x~

~Jazz pov~

~x~

Jazz sighed as he 'leaned' against Bee. _"I wish ya could hear meh Bee... I just wish one o' ya could see meh. Ya'll have no idea what kinda hell this is..."_

_"Feeling blue?" _Jazz blinked up at Crescent who stood in front of him with a slightly concerned look on her face.

Jazz put on a fake smile as he waved a hand at her. _"Who meh? Nevah."_

_"Really." _Crescent arched a brow. _"You don't sound so sure there. So I see you give up on following Bee..."_

_"Nah Ah didn't."_

_"So... you got anymore stories for me today?"_

Jazz said nothing as he stared at the teens that were milling out of the school. Crescent was staring at him intently as she edged near him as she went to poke him. _"Waht is it with you and poking meh?"_

_"I get my kicks outta pestering someone... since Cassie's still in the hive I figured I'd bug you..."_

_"Ya think she's gonna ride with Bee and Sam today?"_

Crescent shook her head. _"Please she thinks the car is possessed. You should have see the goose bumps that rise on her arms from being _near _the Camaro."_

_"Now tha's just ridiculous. Bee is not possessed."_

Crescent frowned at Jazz. _"I wasn't talking about him... though it's freaky as all heck that he barely has an freaking aura..."_

A loud chirp of a squad car brought Crescent's attention to her twin...

~x~

~Cassie's pov~

~x~

Crescent had ditched her sometime before the end of her last class and Cassie spent most of that class staring numbly at the black board as the occasional spit ball hit her back. She was out the door the instant the bell rang ignoring the catcalls and the odd look the teacher had shot her, which led her to think that the bastard had noted the spitballs that were being shot at her but opted to say nothing. She grit her teeth in irritation as she bit back a growl.

She wove through the halls and out of the building ignoring the whole mess. _God why the hell did I have to lose my temper? _Cassie vented a sigh through her nose as she made her way to the sidewalk and started down it. She was lost in her thoughts when the chirp of a siren jarred her out of her thoughts.

Cassie blinked up at the squad car that had pulled up beside her. _Oooh a Saleen Mustang... I've only seen two of those as interceptors... Now that is a rare beast indeed._

The door to the patrol car swung open and a tall dark haired man stepped out. "Are you Cassandra Cooper?"

"Yes..." she said as she stared him over as the hair raised on the back of her neck... it was like being around that damned camaro... She eyed the mustang. "Is there a problem officer?"

"It's about the incident last Friday afternoon I'm afraid that I have to ask you to come down to the station to give us a statement."

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "I already gave my statement to the officers that responded last week. Unless you have justifiable cause and a warrant to haul me down to the station. Seeing as I am a minor, I'm afraid that you will have to direct any further questions to my legal guardians. Have a good day officer." she said as she turned her back and continued down the sidewalk.

~x~

~? pov~

~x~

He watched as the fleshling turned her back on his holoform and stalked down the sidewalk muttering to herself. He clenched his holoform's servos into fists as he fought the urge to haul the little glitch back into his altmode. A cursory glance at the school's parking lot at the sound of an cybertronian engine revving to life had him cursing. Of course the Autobot was watching the school... _I shouldn't have used my siren... _he cursed his momentary glitch. He quickly made the show of his holoform getting into his altmode before dismissing it and peeling away from the curb in a squeal of tires as he retreated. He'd get his servos on the fleshling at a later time.


	7. Chapter 6: Annoyances

**Sorry for taking so long... The weather has been wreaking havoc in my town so things have been fun to say the least... Anyways I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter and I hate to say it but the word count for this chapter has fallen at a pathetic 1712 words... But after writing this chapter about six times with dissatisfaction with each outcome I printed them out and threw a dart at my wall. This was the one I nailed.**

**And the list keeps growing on and on... Yays!**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, and Kate555 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou!**

**~x~**

**Disclaimer: This is obviously a fanfiction... so I don't own Transformers... it belongs to Hasbro...**

**Oooh I do gotta question... How old would you say Jazz really is? I hope I've got a good range... if not let me know and I'll fix it.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

~x~

~Sam's Pov~

~x~

"_Barricade?" _ Sam almost screeched into his cell phone. "What the hell do you think he wants with Cassie?" Sam was panicking after receiving a text from Bee to stay put at the school after spotting the Decepticon.

"Nothing good. I've lost track of him but I've called the others to give them a heads up. They're on their way into town."

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "So do you want me to stay put or what?"

"I'll be there in two minutes, you and Mikaela meet me out front."

"What about Cassie?"

"I can only hope she went home." Bee said before disconnecting the line.

~x~

~Cassie's pov~

~x~

"The nerve of that guy..." Cassie grumbled as she crossed her arm as she waited for the light to change. She was still irritated at the cop, but what had really pressed her buttons was Jazz who kept insisting that she go home.

_"Cassie you need to go home." _Jazz repeated for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

_Tell him to shut it. _She glared at Crescent who shook her head in turn.

_"Jazz please, she isn't going to listen."_

_"This isn't the time to play around Cassandra." _Jazz said with absolutely no accent in his voice. _"That was no ordinary cop."_

_Considering that the damned car had more a fucking aura than the cop himself? Yeah I kinda noticed. _Cassie let out a slight huff as she started across the street. She was downtown at this point, the complete opposite direction of the house. _I don't care._

_"Cassie..."_

_"She says she noticed and she doesn't care..."_

_"Well she should! If he's afta ya it ain't a good thing. Nothing that he and his want is a good thing. Ya need to get back home and-"_

"Alright. That's it." Cassie growled before sharply veering right into an alley. "Give me one good reason why I should listen to you. _Either _of you. I can't seem to find two minutes to myself here lately because you've been tailing me for days. And-" she held up a finger to stop Jazz protest in his defense, "Yes I know you have enough sense to leave me alone in school but I am _not _alone or given a chance to _be _alone. I am cursed to be stuck with Crescent because she is literally the other half of my soul but I am not the reason you are tethered to this plane of existence. So if you honestly can give me one viable reason as to _why _I should listen then by all means go ahead. But it better be a good one."

Jazz stared at the girl, his poker face perfect but she could sense him having difficulty over what to tell her. _"Cassie... That's a mighty tall order. I'm not exactly sure where to begin or what Ah _should _tell ya."_

Cassie stared at him for a few moments before letting out a light sigh and turning away. "Never mind then, just go home Jazz. Come on Crescent. I need to find the library."

_"Cassie..."_

Cassie replied my merely slipping on her ear buds and walking away. Crescent looked between the two of them before offering Jazz an apologetic smile and following after her twin.

~x~

~Sam's Pov~

~x~

Sam was loosing his mind. He had tried to call Cassie only to groan as her phone was answered by his mom. After bold facedly lying to his mother as to why he was calling and finding out that his father had extended their trip by another two days, Sam hung up and beat his head on a door frame, earning him a scolding from Ratchet who opted to stay with him and Mikaela while the other three Autobot's scoured the town for signs of Barricade and Cassie.

"Where _is _she? If she gets hurt mother will maim me. Then beat the shit out of everyone else with her bat..." Sam groaned.

"Cassie's fine Sam." Mikaela said pulling him to sit down beside her on the couch.

"Yeah but what if she isn't? What if robocop actually got her you know? What the hell could they want with Cassie?"

"If I had to surmise," The twosome jumped at the sound of Ratchet's voice from behind them as he came into the living room. "It's a ploy of some kind or other. While it's easy to assume that the Decepticons want revenge on you for Megatron's demise, they are more than likely under Starscream's command now, and Starscream doesn't give two credits about Megatron's offlining other than the fact that he's now in charge. Barricade could very likely be working of his own accord, with perhaps an ulterior motive like obtaining energon from us... It's hard to determine what could be going through his processors at this point in time." Ratchet tilted his head as his eyes dimmed slightly. "At least the girl is finally home." He said with a sigh. "I'll comm the others."

~x~

~Cassie's Pov~

~x~

Cassie frowned at the street as she slipped between the houses to the back of the house. _I don't remember Sam saying that we'd have company... _she eyed the familiar eyesore of an ambulance.

_"Maybe Sam got hurt again? Unless you think something happened to Bee." _Crescent commented as she tumbled over the hedge. "_I really hope not. That weird medic is kinda creepy-whoa!" _Crescent bumped into Jazz.

_"Ya'll safe!" _Jazz cheered as he hugged the unsuspecting ghost._ "You two have ev'ryone worried sick about ya!"_

"Like I give a damn." Cassie spat. The sound of the Camaro's engine pulled into the drive behind her as she let out a low growl and slipped into the house. She glared at the pill container waiting on the table for her.

"Cassie!" Sam cam running into the kitchen from the living room while the backdoor opened harshly as Bee bolted in.

Cassie raised a brow. "Yes Samuel?"

"Are you okay?" Sam grabbed her arms and began to look her over. "Where have you been?"

"Why do you care?" she narrowed her eyes as she shrugged him off. "I went to the library. Now stop grabbing at me."

"Do you realize how worried we were?"

"..." Cassie shook her head before she stepped around her cousin. "I didn't realize it was a crime to spend my day so innocently trying to improve my studies."

"Don't you realize how dangerous it is to go by yourself?" Sam grabbed her shoulder.

Cassie tensed and let out a long slow breath. "I am perfectly able to take care of myself Sam. Now let go of me."

Sam paid no mind to the use of his nickname as he let out an irritated growl. "Cassie need to talk about something."

"If it's about you and Kae doing the dirty in your room last night I won't let Aunt Judy know." Cassie said dryly as she smirked at his wordless choke. "What did you think that you really could be quiet? I swear Kae doesn't make as much noise as you."

_"That's just low..." _Jazz commented as she quickly dodged around Sam and made her way up the stairs.

"Yeah well he should be more considerate of the other people in the house if he's going to 'play' at midnight. If Bee hadn't taken me upstairs I would have been able to sleep through Sam's escapades." Cassie hissed under her breath.

"CASSIE!" Sam must have broken through his temporary stupor finally because his pounding footsteps came rushing up the stairs behind her. She let out a chuckle before darting the rest of the way up the stairs, bolting down the hallway and into her room, before slamming the door behind her and securely locking it.

"Cassie open the door."

Cassie said nothing as she smirked and opened her backpack and pulled out her books.

Sam pounded on the door. "Cassie!"

Cassie tried to ignore her cousin... who was surprisingly loud for a guy... _I swear he's a girl in disguise..._

_"Please. Sam would make an ugly woman. Though he can certainly put a banshee to shame. Geez Louise he's louder than ME." _Crescent gagged.

_"Ya really should talk ta him and the others."_ Jazz said as he entered the room.

"Move over Sam." Ratchet's voice cut off Sam's yelling on the other side of the door frame. The lock twitched as he began to pick it.

_Wow someone's using their noggin... _Cassie raised a brow and sighed. "What part of leave me alone doesn't anyone seem to get?" She grumbled as she opened the window.

_"Cassie what are ya thinkin'?" _Jazz yelped as she poked her head out the window to gage the distance to the roof.

"What does it look like?" she smirked as she balanced herself on the ledge before carefully standing up and stretching to reach the gutter.

_"You're goin' ta break yer fraggin' neck!"_

_"Calm down Jazz it's not like this isn't something she hasn't done before. Careful Cassie the roof's pitch is higher than the one back home..."_

_Tell me something I didn't know... Thank god for Uncle Ron being so meticulous about his house and garden. _Cassie thought as she let out a grunt as she pulled herself up on to the edge.

_"Girl if Ah was still online you would give me a spark attack."_

Cassie frowned at Jazz's statement. _Online? Spark attack? Why the hell does he talk like a fricking computer nerd half of the time? _"Jazz... Just how old are you?" She spoke quietly as she glanced over at the suddenly uneasy spirit.

Jazz had turned is gaze away as he stared down at the vehicles that had lined up in front of the Witwicky residence sometime while she had been in her room. _"Dey should be the one's to tell you the answers ya want... Not meh."_

"And I asked _you._"

Blue eyes bore into her grey ones with a deep intensity that made her shudder as he said, _"Millennia. Ah am just shy of a couple hundred Millennia."_


	8. Chapter 7: Things Kept Hidden

**Welcome back everyone!I'm sorry I didn't get to update last week. I had a nasty case of the stomach flu and ended up in the hospital whoo! Noting better than going there to get fixed up and leaving with more bruises than what you came in with... Iv's are fun...**

**Yay's the list has grown! **

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon,lillithwolfshadow, and scaryeyes101 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou!**

**This chapter has roughly 2850 word in it. I wrote it twice because my muse didn't agree with me... This was the better of the two in the long run.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformer... That's why it's call fanfiction!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**~x~**

**~x~**

Cassie's eyes widened. "D-d-d-did he just say..." She pointed at Jazz while she turned to Crescent who was merely blinking at the other spirit. "Did he _just _say- No." she shook her head as she stood back up. "No. There is no way that is true."

_"I'm with you on that sis... But only halfway." _Crescent said as she stared Jazz over. _"You're lying about your age because you're older than that aren't you?"_

Jazz flinched.

_"Ha I knew men are just as fickle as women when it came to their ages." _Crescent cackled. _"So... just how old are you __**really**_?"

_"Ah plead teh fifth."_

"Okay just stop. The both of you. Now." Cassie rubbed her temples. "You are not telling the truth right now _either_ of you." She said turning her back on the two of them. "If I wanted to be spewed a bunch of bullshit I'd just go log on to Facebook. There is no way that he is older than dirt."

_"Hey now Ah'm not __**old**_**.**" Jazz protested. _"But Ah will admit tha' Ah am many thousands of years old Cassie."_

"That is _not_ possible." she hissed as she spun around to face them again. _Every theory whether it's scientific or religious deny the plausibility of his claim!_

_"Cassie he's been telling me for days every memorable part of his life. and I doubt that we've scratched the surface with what he's told-" _Cassie's glare successfully cut her off.

Jazz was not meeting her gaze. In fact he was looking over her shoulder. _So now he gives me the silent treatment... _Cassie thought as she shook her head_. _"Look there is no fricking way tha- Shit!" Cassie jumped a mile as a hand came down on her shoulder. She turned her head to glare at Bee who held his hands up in a surrendering pose as he tried not to smile. _Crescent take note. We are so finding him a collar with a bell for Christmas._

_"Noted. Any preference in colors?"_

"I know you don't want anyone hearing you talk to Crescent but I really don't think the roof is the safest place to do so." He said with an apologetic smile.

"Well I sure as hell wasn't going to get it in my room." Cassie grumbled.

"Look I've got some friends that wanna meet ya downstairs. Why don't you come on down?" The blonde smiled.

Cassie stared at him for a minute before raising a cautious brow. "And risk losing the argument for the remainder of my sanity? Yeah why not. Crescent and her older-than-dirt friend can kiss my ass right now."

_"I feel the love sis."_

_Bite me._

"Friend?" Bee blinked as the brunette walked over to the spot she had clambered on to the roof from.

Cassie swung her feet over the edge. "Just another ghost that's been pestering me for a few days. Are you coming or not?" she asked as she turned and lowered her feet to the window sill.

~x~

~Bee's POV~

~x~

Bee just about had a spark attack for the _second _time that evening as he watched her from hang from the roof before dropping deftly into her room. _She's mad that's a fact... But still she's gotta realize how bad that _that _could have been if she had missed._

Bee copied the girl's move and swung himself down to land in her room to the amusing and slightly concerning sight of her having Sam in a choker hold.

"You bastard! Did you think anyone wouldn't notice?! I swear this is stupid even for you!" She growled from her position on his back.

"I give! Uncle! Uncle!" Sam cried hoarsely.

Cassie released him before getting up and sharply closing her algebra book which was stuffed with notes... "If I catch you copying my homework again, I _will_ use you for my dummy when I teach Kae about proper non-lethal throat punching!"

"Okay, okay geez you're a freaking psychopath." Sam groaned form the floor.

Cassie let loose a low growl. "Better a psychopath than a whiny little spazz. I swear you are such a putz. Now... GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM BEFORE I CASTRATE YOU SAM!"

"Gone!" Sam yelped as he quickly picked himself off of the floor and was out of the room. She glared at his speedy retreat before letting out a huff and grumbled something about needing more blackmail on his charge. Bee was shaking his head half torn between smiling at their interaction and between worry for his charge's future well being when she turn an glared at his holoform.

_I wonder if this is one of those... 'Crescent' moments she told me about..._

"_Out_." she pointed to the door. "And for the record the same goes for you if you dare even try to cheat off of my hard work."

Bee shrugged. "I really don't need to cheat, so you don't have to worry about me getting into your home work... Though I gotta ask... Sam said you had your algebra homework done for the next two weeks. May I ask why?"

Cassie sighed as she shut her door behind her. "I just do."

"Oh come on Cassie that doesn't make any sense!" Sam said from the stairwell.

"Bee, could you tell _Sam _that I am in a rightly foul mood thanks to his incursion; that I will not hesitate to maim him." Cassie bit out as she shot another icy glare at Sam. Sam flinched and continued down the stairs.

"Shut up _Crescent._" The girl hissed before starting to make her way down the stairs.

_I guess that answers my question..._

x~

~Cassie's pov~

~x~

Cassie growled under her breath as she stormed down the stairs. _Can you believe him?_

Crescent merely shook her head. _"Honestly? Not really. I've been poking my nose into various things around the house and from what I can tell he sucks in math. He could do well with a tutor."_

Cassie stopped dead in her tracks. "Hell no!" was out of her mouth before she could stop the words.. to a room full of strangers staring at her. _Damn you Crescent! _she thought as she ducked her head down and flushed red from embarrassment.

_"Hey I'm not the one that said it." _Crescent held up her hands in surrender.

_Specter._

_"I love you too sis."_ Crescent said cheekily. _"Bedside's you ain't looking at the big picture. You could totally make him pay you for tutoring him. And then hold it over his head for when he attempts to make you do something you don't want to..."_

Jazz snorted as he shook his head. _"Has anyone tol' ya that ya are very evil minded?"_

_"How else am I supposed to take care of Cassie? One of us has to be the evil mastermind... it might as well be me."_

"Earth to Cassie..." Sam's hand waved in her view. Cassie's mouth twitched as she briefly considered biting said out of sheer spite... But seeing as she already made a fool of herself already she shook her head and opted for swatting it out of the way.

"Must you keep doing that Samuel?"

"Samuel? You're not mad at me anymore? Talk about mood swings." Sam shook his head.

"Yeah didn't get my meds earlier now did I?" _Not that I need them,_ Cassie added silently before continuing with, "I may have been a little harsh in my judgment to beat you up for what you just did upstairs. You know if you need help that badly... I could just tutor you... for a reasonable price of course."

Sam blinked at her for well over a minute before he frowned at her. "Wait you'd charge me for lessons but not Mikaela? I'm you're cousin!"

"Who I just caught red handed trying to cheat using _my _homework. And on a further note Kae needs to know how to protect herself-" Cassie smiled sweetly as she leaned in closer but did not lower her voice, "-because it's clear to me who wears the pants in your relationship. She might as well know how to fight off the guys because we both know you're only good for getting beat up."

Sam's mouth moved wordlessly as he tried to come up with anything appropriate to say as Cassie moved around him.

_"Tha' was jus' cold..."_

_"See why she needs backup?" _Crescent with a grin.

Cassie stared over the small gathering of people in the living room which contained Mikaela, Ratchet, and three other people. The first one her eyes spotted was the tall mountain of a man standing in the corner. He was in what he appeared to be between his late thirties early forties, with his hair pitch black hair tied back at the base of his neck. His dark olive skin was littered with faint scars with a particularly nasty one over his right eye being the most noticeable. He was watching her with staring cyan blue eyes. He was wearing a tight fitting black shirt, Black jeans and a pair of dog tags hung off of his neck.

The next one was a younger guy in what had to be in his twenties. He was grinning at her from his position on the sofa with Kae, his bright azure eyes sparkling with mirth at Sam's dress down. His crimson curls were cut short but with enough length to have a wave to them and ended just short of the top of his ears. His fair skin was damn near flawless, and if she didn't know any better she would have accused him of using skincare products zealously. He was wearing a red t-shirt with silver grey stripes on the sleeves and black cargo pants.

The last was standing in front of the mantelpiece. He regarded her examining gaze with warm gentle cerulean eyes. He was in his early thirties with tanned skinned with short cropped brown hair. He was wearing a simple red leather jacket over a navy blue shirt and jeans... But his aura- what little there was because just like the blonde that was standing just behind her, these three men barely had an aura- His aura was benevolent yet commanding... And despite the clothes she could tell he was well built, it was in the was he made his way over to hold his hand out to her.

"Hello Cassandra."

He freaking tall as well, he had to be at least 7' 2". Hell if the red haired one was standing she would be sure that he was at least 6' 4". _Damn it what is with all of the tall people around here? _Cassie thought absently.

_"Sis, you realize that you're like five foot one right? Everyone is taller than you. Most people are taller than you. Don't start developing a Napoleon complex because of it and we'll be good."_

_Shut up Crescent, you're short too. _she growled inwardly as she took his hand. "Um... hi."

_"Here comes meh favor'te part..." _Jazz grinned.

"My name is Ryan. I am a friend of Samuel's. We've been waiting for you to join us so please take a seat."

Jazz was scowling at Ryan. _Is it me or does he seem pissed? _she asked her eye flicking briefly to Crescent as she took a seat on the other side of Kae.

_"Yep."_

"You're so mean to Sam." Mikaela whispered to her as she got settled a smile played on the other girls lips.

"I call it love on an existential level." Cassie deadpanned before returning her attention to Ryan. "So should I ask what's up?"

"Do you remember the officer that spoke with you earlier today?"

"Yeah." Cassie said quietly.

"What if I told you that he wasn't a cop?"

Cassie arched a brow. "I kind of gathered that." _Why are they so tense? Just let the freaking cat out of the bag already it's suffocating..._

_"Hmm..."_

"Miss Cassandra me and the men gathered here are part of a secret military organization that is currently tracking and fighting the group that that man was working for."

_Oookay... _"So how is it that you know Samuel?"

"Mission City."

"Oh..." _Like that really explains the __**how. **__I barely remember anything about what happened other than the government claiming that it was terrorists... __but whatever I'm sure you could help me dig up the dirt Crescent. Sam's gotta be hiding something. _

_"With pleasure."_

_"Do Ah wanna kno' wha' ya two are conivin'?"_

_"No."_

"Do you understand?"

_Oh shit I wasn't paying attention what did he say?!_

_"I don't know."_

"Um sure?" Cassie bit her lip.

"Your Aunt and Uncle are well aware of the situation which is why I placed Bee in your household to help with protection duty. But in light of Cade's reappearance I will be assigning Scott here as extra protection for you and Sam until we can be certain that the threat level has gone down." Ryan nodded to the red head.

_"You're telling me that Blondie is Sam's bodyguard?!" _Crescent stared at the blonde. "_What kind of shit did Sammy boy get into?!"_

_"Nothin' good." _Both of the girls stared at Jazz. The older spirit was not happy, irritation flared off of his aura. Something that Ryan had said had not set well with the ghost.

_"Oh? And what exactly do you know?"_

_"Ah'll tell ya later."_

_"Mhm... we'll see. Cassie pay attention to him not us!"_

Cassie returned her grey gaze to the man before her. "-ll be keeping an eye on you. I expect you to listen to him if he tells you to do something. I am sorry things have come down to this young Cassandra but it is for your own safety."

Cassie stared at him for a minute before letting out a sigh. "Very well if you insist. Now if no body else cares I have a book report and a star chart to finish for class tomorrow. May I be excused from the rest of this little pow wow?"

Ryan nodded his head.

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

Jazz stayed put as Cassie and Crescent made their way up the stairs. The mechs were all quiet as they waited to be sure she was out of earshot.

"You realize that she was only half paying attention to you right?" Ratchet pointed from his position in an arm chair as soon as he heard the door to the girl's room click behind her.

"I did she certainly seemed distracted. But nevertheless we will have to keep an eye on her. I can only dread to think of what Barricade's intentions for the girl may be. Sam, I must tell you that I fully regret having to lie to your cousin. I really wish that you would reconsider telling her."

"Optimus I told you, I just don't think she could handle something this big -no pun intended- as you guys right now. Hell you saw how bipolar she is-"

Bee cut Sam off. "Yeah well do you really blame her?"

"Enough you two. Sam sooner or later you're going to have to break the truth to her. And the longer you wait the worse she's going to feel betrayed by you _and _us." Ratchet pointed out. "That is something will be worse for her considering her other psychiatric problems. But for now we will play it your way because like you said she isn't ready. The girl is still recovering from the loss of her creator, and from the incident that more than likely alerted Barricade to her presence in the first place."

Optimus nodded his head in agreement with his CMO. "I believe that is the best course of action that we can take right now."

_"Heh neva' argue with da Hatchet do ya?" _Jazz chuckled.

"I still don't see how you guys are going to keep her in the dark about the fact that you guys are aliens from her." Mikaela said with a shake of her head.

_"Aliens?"_

Jazz cringed and turned to find the other spirit not to far behind him her aura full of shock. _Perfect..._

Crescent stared in shock at the men in shock. Jazz had turned to face her. _"Crescent."_

_"Aliens... Huh..."_ her lips twitched. _"Who woulda thought..." _Her eyes drifted over to land on Jazz who was smiling sheepishly at her. _"Wait a minute!" _she marched forward to poke him in his chest. _"That's why you're like a million years old isn't it?! It's because you're an alien too."_

_"Now girly..."_

_"So all of the places that you've been telling me about, Iacon and Polyhelix-"_

_"Are city-states from my home world, Cybertron." _Jazz's smile faded a little bit. _"How long have you been standing there?"_

_"Once they started talking again."_

_"So Ah don' need ta tell ya that ya shouldn't tell ya sista righ' now."_

Crescent nodded. _"Not that it'll make much difference... though if I can beat Sam to the punch she won't be pissed at **me.**"_

_"Well come on, let's go fin' somewhere your twin won't decide ta come listen in on us an Ah'll tell ya what ya wanna kno'."_


	9. Chapter 8: School Sucks? Try Life

**So I kinda neglected the lot of you last week when I didn't update last week so I decided to make it up to you this week with a second posting for the week. Especially since I did manage to have most of this chapter written by the time I posted chapter 8.**

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**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), and Fangirl01music for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou!**

**Word count: 2900**

**Warning: There might be some OOC-ness...**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Transformers **

* * *

**Chapter 8**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Five o'clock and Cassie sat trembling in the bed, white knuckled hands clenched tightly to the sheets. Hair plastered to her skin from a cold sweat as she let out a soft whimper as she hugged her knees to her chest.

_Just where is Crescent? _she blinked around at the empty room. Neither of the two spirits were present, the room cold and more lifeless than usual. She let out a soft sigh as she eased her death grip on the sheet and swung her legs over the edge. "Just once... Just one time I would like to be able to sleep past five a.m."

A brief shower and a change later and Cassie was out on the path meditating. Or at least attempting to... however her mind kept drifting over various things... Just what were Sam and his 'friends' hiding? And what did that have to do with that cop...? And where they freaking heck was Crescent and Jazz?

Footsteps on the path alerted her to someone else's presence. It didn't feel like Sam... and it was too noisy for Bee... leaving only one other living individual..

"What the frag are you doing out here so early? Aren't you supposed to be in bed recharging?" Scott said as he stopped short of her. A foot nudged her leg when she gave no acknowledgement to his presence. "Girl... Come on I know you can hear me..."

"Cassie."

"Hm?"

Grey eyes opened to glare irritably up into his blue ones. "My name is Cassie and I expect to be regarded as such. As to why I am out here isn't it clear to you that I _was_ trying to meditate?"

Scott blinked at her. "You meditate?"

"Why do you find that so hard to believe?" Cassie mused as he crouched down to her level. "Meditation calms the nerves and sharpens the mind."

Scott raised a brow before shaking his head. "I don't see why you need to meditate. Especially at this hour. You need sleep."

"Look either sit down and shut up or go away because I'm not moving from this spot." Cassie said closing her eyes and returning to her relaxed position. The red head let out a sigh and there were retreating footsteps.

After several minutes she had finally calmed down and had almost found her center when something tickled her nose. She swatted a hand in front of her and the feeling left... for about five seconds. With a sigh she opened her eyes to find Scott's hand an inch from her nose holding a leaf to her nose, a small grin gracing his face.

"Really?" she raised a brow as his grin grew into a full blown smile.

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

Crescent blinked as she looked down into the yard as her twin tackled 'Scott.' She and Jazz had lingered in the living room long enough to gather that Jazz's friends were using a technology called a Holoform; a type of solidified hologram from what Jazz could figure.

_"Ya okay Crescent?"_

_"Yeah... I guess... It's just a lot to take in..."_

_"Well Ah can only imagine.." _Jazz chuckled.

_"I still can't believe that you guys can turn into __**cars. **__That's just mind boggling by itself... But when I compare the facts it kind of make sense... A lot more sense than an evil army of demon cars..." _Crescent said as she glanced at the Camaro.

_"Ah still don' see where ya two got tha' notion..."_

Crescent smiled. _"The older a being is the stronger their soul is... And let me tell you, you guys take the cake... Argh... how in the world are we going to tell her?" _The panic had finally set in, the girl staring at her other half with wide eyes... "_Cassie's not going to believe this unless she _sees _proof. Worse she'll know that I'm keeping something from her... Jazz I can't freaking lie to her... She'll see right through me."_

_"Hm..." _

_"We're doomed. She is going to have us exorcised if we lie to her... I wouldn't put it past her..."_

_"It's not lyin' if you jus' don' tell her. Ah'll think of something if one of the other bots don' blow their cova first."_

_"And for now?"_

_"Well she did say she wanted a day alone..." _Crescent grinned as Bee pulled Scott and Cassie apart. The later was glaring at the former who was laughing at the girl's reaction to his pestering.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie eventually gave up the notion of meditating since Scott refused to stop bugging her... And well since Bee had to separate them... Scott even followed her in his corvette at a snail's pace complaining about the speed, her stubbornness and the fact that he said it wasn't safe. It didn't help that like the camaro and the ambulance the corvette had one of those auras that put her on edge...

By now she would have given up and tore him a new one but she was more concerned with the lack of Crescent... _What did I do to make her mad at me? _

The horn to the silver corvette startled her out of her thoughts. She let out a low growl and continued on blatantly ignoring the man.

"Come on Cassie... Just let me give you a ride..."

"No." she finally hissed. "The school is only around the damned corner."

Scott sighed before revving the corvette's engine's with a grin. The girl shook her head and picked up her pace.

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe watched the girl make her way into the school with a sigh of irritation. Of all of the fleshlings he had to be stuck watching over, this was the one that had insisted on actually walking... Most of the fleshlings fawned and swooned over his altmode.. which he had to shamelessly admit that he didn't mind their envy. He had thought that there was no way she'd say no to taking a ride with him... But this femme... Her agitated demeanor had turned downright cold once she had seen his altmode. Bee had warned him of her reluctance to be within five feet of them, but he had brushed it off.

He sighed as he took and pulled out of the parking slot. _**:Bee I'm going for a patrol.:**_

_**:Bored already or are you sulking from being rejected?:**_

_**:Shut up.: **_Sideswipe closed the commlink. The camaro's form was shaking slightly with silent laughter.

HIs thoughts drifted over to what the Hatchet has discussed with him and why he was chosen to help keep an eye on their... puzzling new human...

_"But couldn't Bee do it himself? I don't want to be saddled with a fleshie..." _

_"As much as it pains me to say it... I need your help with this one Sideswipe. No one knows twin bonds better than you."_

_"Twin bonds? Why in the slag-"_

_"I have a nagging suspicion that the youngling is suffering from a broken twin bond."_

_Sideswipe frowned at the medic. "But humans don't have bonds like us Ratchet."_

_The chartreuse medic vented a sigh. "I've been going over various research from their internet, and there have been several referenced that it is quite possible that their twins could have a psychic bond between each other... If this is true it would certainly account for some of the girl's psychological issues..."_

_"But that doesn't-"_

_"Sideswipe. The girl claims to be talking to her __**dead **__twin sister."_

_Sideswipe shrugged and shook his helm in dismissal. "Ghosts aren't real."_

_"Which is why I need __**your**__ help trying to figure out if she's really talking to her sister or not." Ratchet growled as tightened his grip on the wrench he had pulled out of his subspace. "So stop being a glitch and just agree already before I beat your helm in."_

He was only here for his own self preservation at this point... Ratchet had pointed out the research that he had gotten over the humans internet, and yeah Sideswipe had taken a look at it... Most of the studies were inconclusive, filled with doubts and then there were the superstitions... If such a bond was possible in these organic creatures... Maybe they weren't so different after all...

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

_Maybe she's actually giving me a day to myself like I told her I wanted her to... _Cassie thought as she stared at the teacher as she went over her lecture. _I didn't think they'd actually listen to me..._

The bell rang and the teacher began yelling instructions to them as the filed out of the room. Cassie went to her locker with little to no incident despite the whispers and sneers that were following her. She was mostly numb to them at this point regarding them as background noise. She sighed at the notes that were plastered over her locker, dusting them aside and standing back as she opened her locker. Today's 'gift' was yet more pigs ears and a pile of psychiatrist calling cards...

She was in the middle of stuffing her books in her locker when someone slammed the door shut. She blinked up at the group standing there. It was a group of cheerleaders/jock types standing there with glares and none to friendly smiles plastered on their faces.

"You cost us the game last Friday _puta_." one of the guys sneered. "Trent was our best linebacker."

"Then he should have considered the consequences of his actions. Now if you excuse me-" hands slammed into the lockers on either side of her effectively caging her in.

"Listen here bitch. I don't take lightly to you having my boyfriend-"

Cassie let off a scoff. "Boyfriend? Please. That asshole was probably screwing anyone that would have given him the time of day if they threw themselves at him."

The girl's reaction echoed in the hall and catcalls began to stir. Cassie glared as she recovered from the sting of the cheerleader's nails from where she had slapped her. Cassie spit on her pretty little shirt. "You call that a slap? I've been hit with worse." she growled as hands grabbed her wrists.

"We're just getting started." a fist connected with her stomach.

~x~

~Timeskip~

~x~

A bruised and somewhat battered Cassie sat gaping at the principal in disbelief. "I'm the one that looks like they've been put through a meat grinder and _I'm _the one that gets suspended? This is bullshit!"

"I am sorry Ms. Cooper but I explained to you our zero tolerance policy. If you hadn't started fighting Ms. Sanders, I wouldn't be forced to suspend you. Now you are kicked off the premises for three days and I do not expect to see you until next Monday."

"So help me you better be suspending those bastard or I will be speaking to my Aunt about reconsidering that privacy lawsuit that she considered filing against you guys." She glared at the principal as best as she could with one good eye before she turned and stalked out of the office in an huff. She passed her equally bruised aggressors, flipping them the bird as she stormed past them. She made her way to her locker and raided the now dented metal for her stuff.

She almost groaned as she stepped outside and into the rain. "Can today get any worse?" she muttered, wincing as she slung her bag onto her shoulder. As if summoned by her words a silver corvette pulled up in front of her.

"What the frag happened to you?" Scott stared at her from the driver's seat.

"It doesn't matter."

"Look get in and I'll take you home."

Cassie shook her head. "I think I'm fine."

"Femme get your ass in."

"Kiss it." Cassie spat as she turned and started down the sidewalk. Scott revved the engine of the corvette before he got out and was walking to catch up with her.

"Look I'm not arguing with you. I am giving you a ride home. You're not in any shape to be walking home." He said before looping an arm around her waist and slinging her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down!" Cassie cried indignantly. "I told you that I'm fine! Now let me go!"

"Nope not happening."

"Put me down or I'll start screaming shit about rape!"

"You wouldn't dare." Scott said as the passenger door swung open before he dumped her into the seat, the door swinging shut with a click. He was in the drivers seat before she could blink. "Primus girl, I swear you are too fragging stubborn for your own good."

"Yeah well bite me. I was perfectly fine with walking home."

"Mhm. And you only look like you got you got shoved down a flight of stairs." Scott frowned at her as he sped through the streets of Tranquility. "What happened?"

Cassie glanced at the red head briefly before shaking her head. "Nothing important."

"Right... You're such an excellent liar."

_My sister was the liar between the two of us... I'm just brutally honest._ Cassie thought as sighed, closing her good eye as she tried to ignore how fast he was driving. "You realize you're in a residential area right? The speed limit is twenty-five."

Scott snickered. "Come on girl live a little."

"I'm perfectly content on staying alive, which if you insist on going these speeds might not be so for much longer." she said tensely her hands tightening the seatbelt in a white knuckled death grip.

"I'll have you know I'm one of the best drivers out there." He said smugly.

Cassie shook her head her face pale as he took a corner hard. "I can really see that. But you should factor in the fact that there _are _other drivers on the road besides you. And I really don't want to die in a car accident. So please _slow _down.._. Please." _

Scott must have heard the stressed tone in her voice because the car slowed down finally before he asked, "Are you okay? You look even worse than before do I need to get you to a doctor or-?"

"I'm fine..." she said as she swallowed thickly.

The car finally stopped and she was out before Scott could say anything. She was marching into the house and slamming the door behind her. Crescent was in the living room with Jazz when she stormed through.

_"Cassie? Why are you- Wait what the hell happened to you?"_

The dam broke and all of the frustration and irritation of the day was unleashed. "Where the hell have you been all freaking day? Today's been nothing but craptastic. And before you ask the jocks cornered me and beat the shit out of me for having Trent expelled. Which of course meant that I got suspended for freaking defending myself against those holier-than-thou sons of-"

_"Okay, okay I get it. I'm sorry that I thought you would like a day off. Just tell me that you at least got some hits in."_

"Of course." Cassie grinned, wincing as her lip split. The front door opened and closed as Scott made his way into the living room.

"Look either tell me what's wrong you or I'm calling Ratchet. I'm sure he would have no trouble with coming to give you a check up."

"Look I'm alright. Bruised yes. But I am not in any need of medical assistance and no there is no way in hell I am getting the car with you again. I'll take the demon possessed camaro over that hellborne corvette any day. At least Bee and Sam drive like _sane _people who have a wish to get to their next destination _alive._"

"My driving isn't that bad." Scott admonished.

"No it's worse." she deadpanned.

"Hey! I don't see you driving so just shut up." Scott glared his blue eyes blazing as he glared down at her.

_"'ey now why don' ya jus' take a breather. Ya don' really need ta argue."_

Cassie took a deep breath as her anger ebbed slightly as she blinked over at Jazz who was standing beside them. The ghost's blue gaze held her own. _"Ah know ya are pissed with how today has gone but ya don' need to take it out on Sides, even if he's bein' a aft."_

"Fine." she sighed without breaking eye contact with Jazz. She then turned away from Scott before making her way the up stairs.

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

Sideswipe let out a low sigh as he watched the girl stomp her way up the stairs, her bedroom door slamming shut in response. The ghost watched the holoform sink into one of the chairs with said sigh. "Stupid femme."

_"Hey asshole don't call my sister stupid!"_

_"He can' hear ya Crescent."_

_"I don't care." _Crescent growled.

_"'ey where are ya goin'?" _Jazz asked as the other spirit made her way out of the room.

_"To sit on his hood for a while. I may not be able to really bother him but at least I **can** bother him by sitting on him."_

* * *

**Now for the record Sideswipe might seem a little OOC in this chapter, but my muses reasoning is that **

**A: He's missing Sunny. **

**B: You just don't insult his driving.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Tales of Our Past

**Holy cannoli... 3,567 views! That deserves confetti! ... Now to only stuff Ironhide's cannons with it without getting killed... XD I was over joyed when I saw that. **

**The list.. it grew again! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, and night prince for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Word count: 2315-ish**

**Warning: There might be some OOC-ness...**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Transformers**

**Many thanks to my Beta Khalthar.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie was sitting at the kitchen table concentrating on her homework when the front door opened up and her Aunt and Uncle pranced through the entrance laughing and flirting like a pair of hormone driven horny teens until they realized they had an audience.

"Cassie? What are you -Ron stop!- What are you doing home?" the woman asked taking in the girl's shiner and the fresh bruises that dotted her arms. "What happened?"

Cassie had been prepared for Judy's grilling and in reply, she simply held up the note that the school had sent home with her. Judy ripped it from her hand with enough force to give her a paper cut. Cassie winced and went back to focusing on her science homework, while her aunt read the paper.

"They suspended you for self-defense."

"Yep."

"What about the ones that did this to you?"

"I don't know. But considering that they were mostly jocks and cheerleaders, I wouldn't put it past the school to give them ISS instead." Cassie glanced up from the homework. "After all they wouldn't want to lose their precious football games or student morale."

"Ron keys." Judy said quickly.

"Now Judy..." Ron pleaded reasonably.

"Ron give me your keys." Judy snapped firmly while starting to glare.

"Only if you promise me you won't take your bat with you." Ron said as he bore the weight of his wife's glare. He gingerly held out his key and she was marching back out the door. Ron and Cassie both sighed as they heard her screech out of the drive. Ron glanced over at his niece who had promptly gone back to her homework and focused on it with diligence. "So kid you take your meds today?"

"Yep."

"Hm..." The man said as he thought of something to say to the girl as he sat down across from her. "So um... despite the fact that you've gone two full days without it, how's school going for you?"

"... Dismal. It isn't meant to be a pleasurable experience Uncle Ron." The girl said as she shut the textbook and setting it aside for her history book. "You can't tell me that _you_ liked high school."

"You got me there." he chuckled.

Cassie smiled at him before saying, "Thank you Uncle Ron."

"What for?"

"Not yelling at me for working out on your grass. Sam and Bee both told me that you freak out every time they walk across the lawn. So I figured I should say thank you for being so lenient on me."

Ron grinned. "Yeah well after the garden was trashed earlier this year I've worked hard to get my baby back up to par... Not that I want you walking across it all the time..."

"I understand and thank you." she said as she returned to her homework...

Several minutes passed before Ron pushed his chair out and stood. "Well I'm off to work on my garden."

"Good luck with that."

"You're more than welcome to help."

Cassie smirked. "Yeah well, I am honor bound to tell you that I inherited my father's black thumb."

"Right..." Ron called back with a laugh. His laugh cut off as he turned back to the girl. "Cassie who's corvette is that?"

~x~

~Later that afternoon~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe was growling lowly. He couldn't shake the weird feeling of someone sitting on him, drawing lazy circles over his hood... It was driving him nuts as it took every bit of his self control to keep from shuddering under the strange feeling. This damned feeling had started last night and it was still being persistent... He ground his holoform's teeth tightly as he glared at his altmode trying to decipher what on earth had him so on edge...

"You okay there twitchy?"

"Bee... I think something's wrong with my sensors..." Sideswipe said not switching his gaze from his altmode.

"Hm... Let me guess... you feel like someone's touching you, despite the fact that your scans are coming up negative and you can clearly see that there is nothing happening."

Sideswipe blinked at Bee. "How did you know that?"

Bee shrugged. "It's happened to me a few times... I mentioned it to Ratchet but he couldn't find anything in his diagnostics check that he did on me. Though Cassie drew a rather interesting picture during one of the times it happened." Bee sent Sideswipe a file of the image.

Sideswipe examined the image... "Who are the two fleshies?"

"Well the femme is Crescent according to Cassie... But she still hasn't told me who the guy is... Other than the fact that she claims he's a ghost."

"There's no such things as ghosts."

Bee caught Sideswipe's gaze. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'm starting to believe that what the girl says might just be true..."

"I think you've been watching too many movies." Sideswipe said before shuddering at the sensation of nails running across his hood. "Argh slaggit all I am going nuts..."

Bee smirked at the frontliner's cringe. "You know you could always just ask Crescent to leave you alone." Bee said as he walked towards the house. "I'm sure she'd listen if you were nice about it."

"Go frag off." Sideswipe growled as he dismissed his holoform.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie sighed as she stretched her neck, the vertebrae cracking loudly as she rotated her head. She glanced back down at her sketchbook where a certain corvette graced the page. She had yet to draw her devious twin who had yet to sit still on the vehicle. The specter was currently digging her nails into the seals of the windshield, giggling maniacally... The corvette's aura was irritated and on edge... It actually had Cassie nervous to be sitting there doodling the thing. She gently closed her book before stretching out her legs and walking over.

Crescent was snickering while Jazz merely shook his head at the younger spirit as Cassie came to a stop beside him. _"Ah think she's lost it."_

"It wouldn't be the first time Crescent's flipped." Cassie grumbled under her breath as she glanced around the yard to make sure that the coast was clear. "Crescent stop fondling the damned corvette already."

Crescent paused in her teasing to blink at her sister. _"But this is fun."_

Cassie narrowed her eyes. _Get down now._

_"Do I have too?"_

_Yes now get the hell down before I go get the salt._

_"You always ruin my fun..."_ Crescent pouted as she slid off of the car.

"I don't see how screwing with the corvette's aura gives you such joy... What the hell are you grinning about Methuselah?"

Jazz sputtered completely flabbergasted at the nickname. _"Methuselah?! I'm not that fragging old!"_

"Could have fooled me. Now come on you two or I'm going to watch FMA by myself." Cassie grinned as she spun around and marched back into the house. The two spirits following behind her, Crescent chuckling at the Methuselah comment, while Jazz sulked.

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

If Sideswipe had been in his bi-pedal mode he was sure his optics would have been wide. The feeling was _gone... _but only after Cassie had come to scold 'Crescent' for fondling him... Bee was shaking with laughter, chortling the words 'fondling the corvette.' over the commlink.

_**:Shut up already. It wasn't that funny.:**_

_**:Aw... disappointed from not getting the 'Happy Ending?':**_

Sideswipe paused to google the term. _**:Number one: Ew. Two: If Ratchet had heard you say that he'd wrench my helm in...:**_

Bee snickered. _**:I can't help that the majority of my corruption has been at yours and Sunstreaker's servos...:**_

_**:Yeah I guess.: **_Sideswipe cut the commlink. He glowered at the yellow and black vehicle before activating his holoform and flipping the Camaro the finger as he made his way into the house. He made his way up the stairs to the girl's room and stood there thinking of what to say.

The door swung open and the room's occupant ran smack dab into his chest. "Ow..." She complained as bounced back a step rubbing her nose. "Have you heard of knocking?" she glared. "Or were you spying on me?"

Sideswipe glared at her for a second before turning his head away. "Look, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot."

"You think?" Cassie raised a brow.

"I... I just wanted to apologize for being such an aft yesterday. And I thought maybe we could sit down and talk."

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

"..." Cassie raised a brow as she stared him over. She turned her head back into the room. _Should I listen to him?_

Crescent didn't look away from the laptop when she replied, "_Hey he apologized so I'm cool with him... for now. Though if he calls you stupid again I won't hesitate seeing if I can use my white noise trick on his speakers."_

"When the heck did he call me stupid?" Cassie asked before she turned back to Scott as she crossed her arms, looking expectantly at him for answer.

"Um... I'm not going to ask about how you know about that."

"Crescent." she grinned.

"Crescent." Scott's eye twitched.

"Yep." Cassie said as she took a seat on her bed. "I take it that you don't believe in ghosts."

"Well... no. Not really."

_"And to thin' of all teh pranks usin' ghosts he and Sunny pulled on the guys back home... Ya'd thin' he'd believe in them..." _Jazz commented from his position on the bed.

Cassie frowned. "Surely you believe in the afterlife. Heaven? Hell?"

"Who doesn't?" Scott shrugged.

"Surely there must be some grey area? Purgatory? Limbo? Oblivion? Why is it so impossible to believe that there might be some souls still tethered to this plane of existence? Whether it be because of anguish, rage, lost love, or familiar bonds, there are some spirits that are tethered to this world... Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist." Cassie cocked her head to the side. "If you want to join everyone else and just say that I am nuts then fine so be it. I don't plan on forcing you to believe in Crescent's non-corporeal existence."

Scott said nothing as he took a seat on the floor beside the bed a contemplative look written on his face. "Tell me about her." he said finally after a while.

Cassie blinked at him. "She is my twin sister... we were almost identical twins... but her hair was a honey blonde and her eyes a paler grey... She was always mischievous, getting both me and her into all sorts of ruckus when we were kids, between the pranks and her fondness for getting into things she shouldn't have. She loved gymnastics and learned it form our mom, where I learned aikido and karate from our father."

"So... How did she die?"

_"Excuse me." _Crescent said quietly as she walked out of the room.

~X~

~Crescent~

~x~

Crescent was standing in the yard, eyes closed, fists clenched tightly.

_"Crescent are ya okay?"_

_"No."_

_"Is it 'cause you don' wanna hear abou' it?"_

_"I can't deal with that look on her face... the pain I caused her..." _Crescent whispered sadly. _"It was supposed to be a happy occasion... When our father took that job in the DPD, we had to move there... and well, it was definitely a change for all of us... It took its toll on Cassie and him the most." _

_"Why?"_

_"Me and my mother died during the move." _When Jazz said nothing she continued on. _"My father was eager to get to the new house and had decided to drive the night through. Unfortunately it was foggy early that morning and we were T-boned by a SUV driving seventy right into a tree line. My father was knocked unconscious, our mother died on impact, leaving Cassie and me... She was forced to watch me bleed out crushed in the metal of our car... The paramedics ripped her out of my grasp as I died... "_

_"A new life stained by sorrow and it just broke our father. It's why he decided to take the mechanics position. He was constantly fretting over Cassie, especially once she realized that I was still with her. Psychological problems they called it. Schizophrenia... bi-polar disease... It took her forever to convince him she was fine and that was only by ignoring me when she was around him. She was depressed from having to lie to him about me. It's why he fought tooth and nail to get his boss to allow him to homeschool her while he was working in the garage. So he could keep an eye on her." _

Jazz put an arm over her shoulder. _"Ah'm sorry ta hear tha'."_

Crescent shrugged. _"It is what it is. I just can't stand the fact that I am the main reason she's been so miserable these past few years and If I could have I would have went on, if only to spare her the pain of being ridiculed."_

_"But Crescent. If you had passed on then wha' would have Cassie done about losin' you? She would probably be worse off then she is now..." _Jazz said reasonably.

_"I guess..."_

_"Don' doubt it girl. She needs ya just as much as ya need her." _Jazz said as he hugged her. _"Ah know you regret all of the slag tha' she's gone through. But all of the trials tha' she's gone through has made her a stronger person."_


	11. Chapter 10: Demons

**If you wanna shoot me for missing last weeks update just give me time to go grab my blindfold and I'll meet ya at the firing range. I'll be the one wearing the target XD. It was to say the least a long exhausting week but hey things are better... Of course everything's better with a bottle of aspirin... **

**The list.. is still growing! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, and Rockubyebaby for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Word count: 2657**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

**Many thanks to my Beta Khalthar! **

* * *

**Chapter 10: Demons**

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe couldn't recharge... He had spent the better part of the night thinking about his charge. The girl definitely had a chip on her shoulder, and was more than ready to take on the world in defense of her belief that she wasn't alone.

Talking things over; he actually learned several things about the girl. She loved martial arts, was a decent hand at art, and despised the unnecessary killing of other animals for food, which led her to being vegetarian. She had been home schooled by her father after her twin's and mother's deaths. Crescent, spent most of the girl's waking minutes with her, and thankfully the girl hadn't been present when her father had been killed.

Her father had been killed in a shoot out in Detroit on the one day he actually had to put in his service hours to keep his badge. The girl had cracked hard that day. Absolutely alone and broken. It was only after child welfare had caught the girl crying and talking to Crescent that they had hospitalized the girl for her sanity... It would only be a week after her father's death that the Witwicky's had been informed and the girl sent here.

The damned feeling from the night before came back. With a hiss he activated his holoform and stepped out into the cool damp air. "Fragging glitch, stop it!" He glared at his driver's side. The feeling of the hands on him stopped before something poked him in the chest. Just as his internal clock hit 0500 Sideswipe heard something that make his energon run cold.

_"Make me."_

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

Jazz was sitting in Cassie's room watching over the girl as her twin went down to bother Sides. The two of them had come to an agreement that the only way that they could get Cassie to accept the fact that there was such a thing as other life out there, they would have to convince the bots that ghosts were real... Get them interested in the girl and go from there.

Jazz's half of the plan was devious indeed.

"No!" Cassie shrieked as she sat straight up on the bed, eyes wide with unbidden terror, her skin pale and clammy.

_"Easy there Cassie."_

The blank look in her eyes slowly gave way to the realization of where she was. "Jazz..."

_"Good mornin' girly." _He grinned at her.

Cassie blinked at him for several minutes before quietly asking, "Where is Crescent?"

_"She is currently downstairs hauntin' Sideswipe." _

"Sideswipe?"

_"Scott's corvette. Scott's sleeping in his car."_

"Ah." Cassie stretched her arms over her head cracking her back in the process.

Jazz grinned. _"Ya gonna sit in bed all day or what?"_

"Why hurry? I might as well take my time and meditate since I didn't get the chance to yesterday. And it's not like I have school today anyways." Cassie yawned.

_"Wha' if Ah said Ah have somethin' special planned?"_

A brow arched. "Special?"

_"How abou' Ah teach ya some of the martial arts Ah know?"_

Cassie blinked at the ghost. "... I would have thought people back then fought with rocks tied to sticks back in your day."

Jazz's felt his aura flare at the girl's jab, but he brushed it aside with a slight huff. _"Look Ah'm willin' ta teach ya moves no other human alive would know. Surely you're up ta da challenge..."_

The engine to the corvette started up outside loudly before the tires screeched out of the driveway and down the alley quickly.

"The idiot's gonna wake up Aunt Judy." she growled as she got up from the bed.

_"I could show ya some of da moves in here if ya'd like... Then ya wouldn't havta go out before sunrise..."_

"Oh please. What's the worst that could happen?"

Jazz shot her a dubious look.

"Okay don't answer that."

~x~

~Bee~

~x~

_**:You do realize that some of us are trying to recharge right?: **_Bee grumbled over the commlink.

_**:Please tell me you heard that.: **_Sideswipe's somewhat stressed tone came over the comm clearly.

_**:Heard what? I was enjoying a peaceful recharge before you ran out of here like Ratchet's after you for pranking him. What has your wires crossed?:**_

_**:Okay... Um... you remember how I was dealing with that weird feeling...?:**_

_**:You mean Crescent?: **_It was too early to deal with this... Sure Bee was pretty much used to the thought that the girl was indeed being haunted by her dead twin, but he deemed it too early to deal with Sideswipe's denial... _**:Sides...:**_

_**:Look I know that it's going to seem crazy but I swear I heard her. I heard Crescent.:**_

Bee was silent as he contemplated the possibility of this... Sure there was plenty of evidence on the internet about spirits being heard if they wanted to be... _**:Are you sure it isn't the recharge depravation?:**_

_**:I know what I heard. And before you ask no Cassie was not out here.:**_

_**:...:**_

_**:Bee?:**_

_**:I'm going back to my recharge for an hour. Have fun being a scaredy cat Sideswipe.: **_Bee cut the comm and promptly did so.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Later that day she had taken a break from Jazz's regimen to meditate... At least she was trying... It didn't help that she could feel Scott's eyes boring holes into her back from his lax position where he was leaning against his car.

"You know if you keep staring hard enough I might just spontaneously combust." Cassie snapped.

Scott snickered. "I highly doubt that would happen."

"You don't have to watch me all the time... The likelihood of me being attacked in my back yard is very minimal."

Jazz scoffed from his position next to her. _You'd be surprised._

_"Oh let her live in her deniable plausibility Jazz." _Crescent snickered. _"It makes life more interesting anyways."_

_Funny coming from a pair of ghosts. _Cassie opened her eyes to glare at the two of them. "Look Scott, Why don't you go for a patrol or something? I can't meditate with you trying to see into my soul back there..."

"... How did you do it?" Scott asked as she spun around to face him.

"Do what?"

"That trick you pulled this morning. How did you do it?" He asked with narrow eyes.

"I afraid that it wasn't me. That was all dear Crescent, I don't know what you've done to irk her but I'm afraid there isn't much I can suggest other than maybe investing in some salt."

Scott's left eye twitched. "You're kidding me. I know it was you-"

Cassie shook her head. "If you mean me as in the literal other half of my soul which is her own personal entity within herself; then yes it was me. But I can assure you that it was not physically me."

Scott blinked at her for a minute before saying, "Can I use that for future reference?"

"Uh... I suppose..."

"_I don't see how he can use it..."_ Crescent commented.

_"Scott's got a twin brotha named Sunny."_

Cassie snorted. Scott raised a brow, "What's so funny?"

"Just something Methuselah said." she grinned. "Look, I am just going to sit here and meditate before working on some of the moves Methuselah has been drilling into me this morning. If you really must do something either go on patrol or buy me about fifty packages of post-it notes. Make sure it's the one's with the hundred count."

"... Why post-it notes?"

Cassie grinned. "Because I owe Sam and Bee some repercussion for tattling about me walking to school." It was true last night Sam had spilled the beans to Judy who had not been to happy, but she had a nagging suspicion that Bee and Scott had also informed her aunt about Pedocop. At which Judy had gone out on her full parental mode and had given the girl hell over not telling her herself about walking and forbade her to do so alone.

"Um... shouldn't I be on that list too?"

Cassie considered this for a minute but already had a punishment in mind... "Not if you get me my post-it notes... Oh and add about five boxes of tampons to the list while you are at it."

"T-Tampons?" Scott sputtered.

Crescent burst out laughing at the man's hesitance. _"Nice punishment there sis."_

"Yep. I think I have the rest of the tools I need in the garage. Now get and maybe I'll let you help me redecorate." Cassie waved him off. "Ooh wait. I also need pink nail polish."

Scott's eyes were practically dancing as he had finally caught on to what Cassie was plotting. "Any particular shade?"

"Preferably barbie pink, but a neon would also do."

Scott nodded. "Right... Don't go anywhere."

"Yep. Shoo."

"Gone." Scott said as he got into the corvette and sped off.

_"Ah think ya made his day." _Jazz said with a smile. _"He's far too moody for his own good. It's not like him."_

"Oh? And how does he usually act? Mischievous and carefree?"

_"Actually... yeah." _Jazz said standing. _"But anyways since he's gone let's ge' back inta ya routine."_

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe stared at the wall of feminine hygiene products... _Why the slag are there so many kinds?! _

A couple of elderly women passed him one giving him an odd look, the other giggling...

His holoform's cheeks burning he grabbed five boxes and shoved them into the cart before making his way over to the nail polish. He was picking through the various cosmetics when one of the last voices he expected whispered into his ear,

"Those really aren't your color, Autobrat."

Sideswipe jolted up to glare at the red eyed holoform of Barricade. He tensed, and onlined a secondary processor to scan for the 'Con.

"What do you want?" Sideswipe growled.

"Ah, ah, ahh… you don't want to make a scene and blow your precious cover now do you?" Barricade sneered. "I was only going to say hi." His holoform flickered briefly... as if it was strained or glitching...

"Yeeah and Unicron is all fluffy cuddles. What do you really want?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." the cop smirked before flickering out of existence. Sideswipe growled as his scans failed picked up the slaggers position... Sideswipe glanced up and down the surprisingly empty aisle before grumbling to himself and comming Bee.

_**:Hey Bee, are you out patrolling right now?:**_

_**:Yeah why?:**_

_**:Barricade just popped up and said hi to me in his holoform.:**_

Bee snorted. _**:Just to say hi huh? Yeah right and Ratchet's the sweetest medic in the universe.:**_

_**:The slagger is so up to something...:**_

_**:Wait... I just passed the house and you're not there. Where are you?:**_

Sideswipe groaned inwardly, but his tone carried over the comm line. _**:The femme required some feminine hygiene products...:**_

_**:...: **_Bee's side of the line was silent before he burst out laughing. :_**She made you go buy tampons... Ha! The great Autobot frontliner Sideswipe buying tampons... Oh Primus I wish I could see you right now...:**_

_**:Shut up Bee, mention this to anyone and I'll paint you pink in your recharge.: **_Sides grumbled as he cut the comm..

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

_"You know I don't know why don't you call Jazz by his name." _Crescent commented as she mimicked Cassie and Jazz who were going through various moves of a Cybertronian form of Martial Arts.

_"Yeah, Ah'd really like it if ya did so."_

"And lose getting a rile outta you each time I call you ancient? Besides, you are what several million years old right? You are old; the end. Besides... I just... I can't find it in myself to call you by your real name in the presence of company, Jazz."

_"Ya are so mean to meh..."_

_"She gets it from me."_

"Yeah right. We both know I'm the more serious out of the two of us."

_"Touché..."_

Tires screeched in the driveway causing them all to glance over at the corvette._ "Oh look my torture victim has returned!"_

"Don't even think about it." Cassie narrowed her eyes at Crescent who pouted as she crossed her arms as her gaze wandered back to Sideswipe who was starring at Cassie with wide eyes... Cassie dropped her stance with a slight bow to Jazz before making her way over to Sideswipe. "So you get my goodies Scott?" she asked.

_"Ah think our plan is workin'." _Jazz whispered quietly to Crescent.

_"I hope... Though in all honesty if we could just get her to leak some of the details we've been slipping to her it would definitely set off some bells in your friends slow processors." _Crescent eyed her twin who was currently going over the large amount of cosmetic supplies that the corvette had picked up on his grocery run..

_"Mah name would be a good start. But Ah think da reason he screeched ta a stop wasn' because of his lust for speed. Ah think he recognized da last set of moves Ah had Cassie goin' through."_

_"Perhaps... But we still gotta keep feeding her stuff that she couldn't possibly know and hope that someone will realize that we're actually here or make them slip up." _Crescent watched her twin. Cassie was wearing a very devious grin as she relayed her plans to Sideswipe.

~x~

~Bee~

~The next morning~

_~x~_

There had been no noises... no indication. But when Bee onlined that morning his entire sensor net _itched_. He onlined his holoform beside his altmode and stared slack jawed at himself... He was completely covered from his front bumper to the back in _thousands_ of post-it notes... The culprits had even gotten his tires... It was artistically done so that the irritating little slips of paper were in flowery patterns over his form...

His glare instantly shot to the still recharging corvette, but as he turned to go kick Sideswipe, a bit of black among the multicolored paper caught his attention. Squinting at the papers, he found the one, smack dab in the middle of his windshield that was written on.

_-Done with much love, Cassie and Crescent…_

Bee blinked at the little square for a long time until a scream from his charge in the house brought him out of his stupor.


	12. Chapter 11: Oh Slag

**Welcome back for the new chapter Of BnB! No real note for me to really put here so lets get the ball a rolling.**

**The list.. is still growing! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar, and Loveatdonnie for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Word count: 2340**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

**Many thanks to my Beta Khalthar! **

* * *

Chapter 11

_**Oh Slag!**_

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie was nibbling innocently on her toast, ignoring the scathing glares that were being shot at her from over the table. Judy was chuckling from her position at the stove while Ron was very pointedly making sure not to look up from his newspaper.

"Mom, this isn't funny."

"Oh I don't know Sam, It makes you look... unique."

"Hey she could have done what your mom did to me when I forgot our first anniversary. Your mom shaved me completely bald. There wasn't a single hair on my body... Save for my eyelashes."

Judy grinned at her husband. "I would have plucked them too but it would have woken you up. Besides Sam, I hear turquoise is really in."

Sam's glare switched to his mother. "Thanks but no thanks for the compliment mom." Sam ran his pink painted nails through his now light turquoise hair. There were still streaks from the mascara on his cheeks that had been too stubborn to come off along with the mineral eyeshadow that had stained his eyelids black. He was irritated with his mother due the fact that she had hidden her make up remover.

Cassie smiled up at her cousin. "I thought you looked really pretty Sam. Especially in the Strawberry Shortcake PJ's."

"I hate you."

"I love you too dear cousin of mine. Now aren't you going to be late for school?"

"Yeah no thanks to you."

"Oh I'm sure Scott could give you two a ride to school."

Sam shot a nervous glance to Bee who shrugged as he stood up from the table, taking his water bottle with him. "Come on Sam. You can plot your revenge later."

"You mean he can try." Cassie called as they walked out the door. She smirked as she polished off her toast and pushed her chair back.

"You know I should reprimand you..." Ron said as he finally closed his newspaper to give a stern look at his niece. A swat to the head and a whispered threat into his ear from his wife, and Ron sighed dejectedly. "Look just go remove the rest of the sticky notes off of Sam's car."

Cassie sighed as she placed her plate into the sink. "Yes sir."

"And don't forget to wash him too!" Judy called after her as she exited the house. "You can't just leave the residue on that handsome car."

"Yes Aunt Judy..."

~x~

It took roughly an hour and a half for her to remove the remaining sticky notes that Bee had not yet peeled off of the car before he had come to collect Sam for school. The girl sighed at the trash bag full of paper...

"I wonder if Aunt Judy has a compost bin..."

_"Knowing her, probably."_

"Where have you been lurking?" Cassie commented, she was currently digging through the garage for stuff to wash the car.

_"Eh plotting."_

_Plotting? Plotting what?_

_"Wouldn't you like to know?" _Crescent smirked.

"As a matter of fact I would like to know. It's never a good thing when you are being secretive..." Cassie glared. "You know I hate it when you hide stuff from me."

_"Hey there girly." _Jazz greeted her from where he was leaning against the Camaro.

"I wondered where you were lurking." Cassie smiled at the spirit. "Plotting with my evil twin?"

_"Hey! You're the evil one!"_

"Okay so it's fifty - fifty. But still you are the annoying one." Cassie waved her hand as she grabbed the hose.

Crescent stuck her tongue out. Cassie chuckled as she filled the buckets. "So should I be concerned about any nefarious plots from beyond the grave? Or may I be allowed to relax for a change without worrying about any negative side effects?"

_"Only time will tell."_

"Very cryptic."

_"Thanks."_

Cassie took the hose and turned towards the Camaro and let loose.

~x~

~Bee~

~x~

It took every ounce of control Bee had not to screech as he was blasted with the cold water. As it was he did jar on his wheels a little before he locked his brakes and tried his hardest not to quiver from the cold. He listened to Cassie banter on with the unseen presence, which he identified with the slightly unnerving feeling accompanying his side... At least he thought it was Crescent.

"Yeah I guess I can consider myself lucky that this is all I get after messing with Sam and Bee. But hey, look at it this way I can work on the drills that you want me to with out that cocky stalker watching my every move..." Cassie said as she slapped a sponge none too gently on his hood. He glanced to her left before a slight smile grace her lips. "Oh yes I could definitely use a chance to meditate in peace... Though seeing as I have lost my tail for the day maybe I could actually go for a freaking walk without being followed... Maybe a nice walk to the park. Somewhere quiet where I may be able to dig my feet into the dirt, lie in the grass and enjoy it..." She breathed. "Yet I'm stuck here washing this possessed car and wasting any nice alone time that I get from the living... Since I can't get rid of you two."

..._She thinks I'm possessed? _A brief memory of Sam screaming "Satan's Camaro' flashed through his processors. _She's definitely way off course..._

"Because I told you that it isn't natural for a freaking car to have an aura of its own. That is why I believe it to be haunted. Nothing else could possibly make sense." Cassie muttered as she leaned into her scrubbing which, for all its brisk roughness in the beginning was starting to become softer and more detailed... more distracting... He shuddered as she began to work on his windshield. The girl on top of him paid no note to his slight shuddering or the warmth of his metal as she concentrated on her task at hand.

"... Why would I drive to the freaking park Methuselah? I mean yeah I'm fairly confident in my hotwiring skills but what would commandeering Sam's ride for the day accomplish besides freaking him and Scott out?"

She stiffened. "_How _dare you." her tone icy. "I'll have you know that I _do _know how to drive." Cassie twitched at something. "That was one time. And it wasn't like I drove Reggie's squad car into anything... I just... killed her cat..." Her cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment as she went back to scrubbing. Cassie sighed as she tossed the sponge a side and dumped the sun warmed buckets of water over him.

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

"It isn't that funny." Cassie glowered as she began to towel off the remaining moisture remaining on the car. "There is nothing hilarious in taking another life Crescent." Cassie said quietly as she opened the car wax.

Crescent sobered up at her sister's tone. _"I know that you didn't mean it like that. And I was referring to how you took out her fence."_

"It's not my fault that they were being chintzy with the salt." Cassie glared. "I mean seriously, who the hell came up with the idea to put _sand _down on top of Ice? It just makes things a worse mess in the long run." she said before she looked down at the yellow paint under her hands. _That was weird... _Cassie's thought drifted over their bond.

_"Hm?" _Crescent moved forward. _"What's up?"_

_The car... I thought I felt a tremble... _Cassie paused to glare at the vehicle under her hands. Crescent glanced at Jazz who cocked a brow. She smiled in return.

Cassie continued her stare off with Bumblebee's altmode before shrugging and returning to her waxing. "I wonder how long it takes for heat stroke to settle in. The delusional stage is fun..."

_Figures she'd think she's losing it... _Crescent thought as she shook her head. The two spirits remained silent until Cassie sighed and finally stood back from the car. "There all destickyfied and sexy again. Now Sam can't bitch at me." She smiled as she admired her work.

_"In all honesty girl Ah think tha' Bee was da more upset of da two of 'em." _Jazz said. _"So now tha' ya are done ya ready to work on your sets?"_

"Ever the task master aren't you? I told you that I was going to seize this rare opportunity to go to the park. We can practice there." Cassie smirked. "But first things first. I am not wearing this to the park." Cassie motioned to her soaking wet clothes before heading into the house.

Crescent shook her head. _You know I know that my sister is oblivious... but really. For as intelligent as she is she is so infuriatingly naive."_

_"Ah can't argue with ya on tha' one. But I guess tha's wha' makes her cute."_

_"You mean irritating." _Crescent said as she sat on Bee's hood. _"I think we should just up and tell her."_

_"... Perhaps... But le's keep up on our little game a bit longer. Maybeh we'll get lucky and one of these dunderhelms will get curiouser."_

_"... Is that even a word?" _Crescent frowned.

"Alright lets go already." Cassie said as she spun a set of keys on her finger.

_"Wait you're driving?" _Crescent blinked at her twin.

"Well oddly enough Judy told me to go ahead and steal the Demonic Chevy. Come on." she said as she clambered into the car. Crescent burst out into a fit of snickering as she settled next to her sister. Cassie glanced at her. "Want to share the joke with the rest of us?"

_"You realize that the Corvette is also a Chevy product as well right?"_

"..." Cassie stared at her sister mutely for several seconds before she began to laugh. She shook her head as she turned the key and the Camaro's engine flared to life.

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

Jazz knew that the scouts sensors were watching them as he drilled Cassie in Metalikato. He kept glaring in Bee's direction, daring the Camaro to please recognize the moves. For the younger bot to use his slagging processor and realize that these weren't moves the girl could possibly know.

"Say Jazz..." Cassie said softly.

_I hope you heard that. _He thought with another glare.

_"Yeah?"_

"Why are you still tethered here?"

_"Wha' do ya mean?"_

Cassie shifted her stance so that she could look him in the optics. "You are still tethered to this world. There must be a reason that you have not yet passed on to wherever it is that you were meant to go on to. I know that you are far from a malevolent spirit. You hold no grudge, you are not tied down to where you died, you are not haunting a specific person, place, or thing. So why are you still tethered here? Is it for your family? For your comrades? For love?" She paused as she noticed him flinch at the last word. "Love? You're still here because of love?"

Jazz looked away from her, his spark heavy with regret and sorrow. He did not want to have this talk not right now... _"Cassie..."_

_"That's so romantic..."_

"So was her name?"

_"..."_

_"Well? Huh? Huh?" _Crescent poked him.

If Jazz were still alive he'd be sure that his face plates would be blue from his blushing. _"His name is Prowl."_

Both of the girls blinked at him for a good long minute before he was met by matching grins. "So it's a guy eh?"

_"Is he cute?"_

Jazz poignantly made sure to turn away from them. _"Ah would prefer not to talk about it..."_

"Aw I believe we've made him flustered..." Cassie grinned. "Look how bashful he is... I didn't know that you have a bashful side..."

_"Who said anythin' about bein' bashfull? Ah'm not bashfull!"_

Crescent hugged him. _"So defensive... Let me guess you never told him how you feel."_

_"..." _Jazz started walking back towards Bee.

_"Oh you have got to kidding me. You never told him? You're stuck here because of unrequited love?" _The other spirit skipped merrily next to him.

_"..." _

_"Does he love you?" _Jazz froze next to Bee.

"Crescent enough teasing Jazz. If he doesn't want to talk about it then drop it."

~x~

~Bee~

~x~

Bee couldn't believe his audios. _Did she just...?_

"Look I'm sorry for the idiot- Yes, yes you are, you don't know when to drop it Crescent. Look Jazz's love life isn't really any of our business." Cassie growled as she opened the door.

_Maybe it's a coincidence? _Bee thought as he revved his engine. _But then again..._ He thought back to her practice stances... Some of them did look familiar...

_**:Hey Bee where are you?:**_

_**:Cassie 'stole' me for the day.: **_Bee replied...

_**"Covered in all those sticky notes?:**_

_**:She washed me.: **_Bee replied smugly. _**:Complete with a wax.:**_

_**:Lucky... I haven't had a wax in a week...: **_Sideswipe whined.

_**:It was good too...:**_

_**:Slagger.:**_

If Bee could roll his optics he would have. _**:Look whatever. Tell me do you recognize any of these moves?: **_Bee sent him the memory file of Cassie during her most recent work out session.

Sideswipe took a few minutes to reply back. _**:And here I thought I was seeing things the yesterday... Bee... That's **__**Metalikato... There's no way she could possibly know those moves. That's strictly a Cybertronian discipline. Those moves don't even exist on Earth!: **_

_**:... Sides... That's not the only thing I noticed... She finally said the name of the other ghost. She called him Jazz.: **_


	13. Chapter 12: Revelations

***Grins* Hi everyone... Here's the new chapter. Enjoy while I try to ignore the ghost in my aunts house that keeps turning on the stove and screwing with the thermostat.**

**...Oh, and for the record my muse is currently trying to track down a certain enforcer... but she keeps finding the wrong one... XD**

**The Fav/follolist.. is still growing! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), and trat199816 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Word count: 3423**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.**

**Many thanks to my awesome Beta Khalthar! He really helped me get the ball rolling for this chapter! **

* * *

Chapter 12: Revelations.

~x~

~Optimus~

~x~

Optimus sighed as he stared at the datapads set before him. The construction of the Diego Garcia Base was nearly complete, the new human recruits were already being chosen from the compilation that had been handed to him, Lennox and the new liaison Galloway. The Prime grimaced at the thought of the human with mild distaste. The man treated he and his fellow Autobots like machines... and the first thing out of Galloway's mouth had been a demand for their weapons technology. It had been only a strict order from him to Ironhide, that kept that human from being a singed pile of ash on the concrete. Even Ratchet had been pushed to his boiling point, and it was all Optimus himself could do to call an end to the conversation.

And if that wasn't enough, Sideswipe had asked three times in the last week if he would be allowed to come to the base this weekend... The frontliner dying to be in his bipedal mode. Optimus vented a sigh as his commlink beeped again from a familiar silver frontliner...

_**:Sideswipe to Optimus.:**_

_**:The answer is still no Sideswipe.:**_

_**:Optimus while I know that I'm grinding your last gear me and Bee need you to take a look at this.: **_Sideswipe sent quickly along with a data burst containing the events that Bee witnessed.

Optimus felt his jaw drop while he viewed the file. Sideswipe's charge slowly working through several distinct Metalikato moves. _**:How.. This is impossible.:**_

Sidewipe's side of the line was silent for a klick before he continued, _**:Optimus did Ratchet inform you of why he wanted me to watch over Cassie?:**_

_**:He informed me that he believed that the girl's psychological issues might in fact be nonexistent.:**_

_**:Sir... Me and Bee believe that the girl really does see her twin's ghost... and someone else too.: **_Sideswipe said cautiously. _**:Bee's been watching her talk to another spirit that she kept referring to jokingly as Methuselah, but we finally caught his real name today... She called him Jazz.:**_

Optimus was floored as his spark gave a painful ache at the name, hope blossoming in its wake. _Jazz... _She was talking to someone named Jazz... Granted, the possibility of it being another spirit by the same name was certainly high but the likelihood of someone else knowing those moves... Sideswipe was still talking, mirroring his own thoughts.

_**:Cassie is somehow in contact with our Jazz! He's been teaching her moves in Metalikato. There's no way she should know anything about that form of combat, but she does. I could have sworn I saw her doing some of it yesterday, but I wasn't sure. Not until today, when Bee watched her while she did her workout, talking to the 'ghosts' whole time.:**_

_**:It seems that we will have to reveal ourselves to her after all. We will meet at Samuel's house to discuss this situation with her.:**_ Optimus sent back after a moment's thought.

_**:Do you want me to inform Sam when he gets out of school shortly?:**_ Sideswipe asked.

_**:I think we all will need to be in communication for that conversation, because Samuel does not want Cassie informed. I can understand his reluctance on this, but the time has come to place that aside. There are too many who believe her to be suffering from delusions caused by unresolved grief. I now know that this is not the case.:**_ Optimus replied firmly before ending the comm.

~x~

~Sam~

~x~

Sam noticed the grim look on the holoform's face when his slid into the Corvette's passenger seat. "What's up?"

_**:**__**:Samuel.: **_Optimus' deep baritone radiated from Sideswipe's speakers.

"Optimus?" Sam blinked at the radio. "Um... what's going on guys?"

_**:Sam… I can understand how this will be very difficult for you to believe, because it was not easy for us to believe either. But we are now more than certain that your cousin, Cassie has in fact been speaking with the spirit of her deceased sister. We know this because she is now in contact with the spirit of one she could not possibly have known before he was killed.:**_ Optimus said gravely.

"Okay… what? Are you saying that ghosts are real, and that Cassie can see them?" Sam demanded with a derisive scoff.

_**:That is exactly what I am saying. We believe Cassandra has been speaking with the spirit of Jazz for a couple of days now. While we have been monitoring and observing her as much as possible, she has not addressed that spirit by name until today. She has been calling him 'Methuselah'. That is why we didn't know the identity of the spirit she was speaking to.:**_ Optimus explained.

Sam shook his head. "Well how do you know that she's really talking to Jazz, and that she just hasn't fallen off the deep end?"

_**:Because the spirit of Jazz has begun teaching her Metalikato. It is a Cybertronian form of Martial Arts that is completely unknown on Earth. Very few of the moves or stances are even similar to anything known to humans. Jazz was an expert in the form, and he has shown Cassie moves and stances that have no commonalities with anything on Earth. That is why we believe that she has been telling others the truth when she says that she is speaking to her sister.:**_ Optimus said seriously.

"Cassie's _really_ talking to ghosts? Man, she is going to rub it in my face..." Sam groaned. "So um... I guess you've gotta tell her huh?"

_**:That is the plan. We are currently en-route to your residence.:**_

"Uh no offense guys but if you really must come out to her... wouldn't it be better to do it somewhere where you can reveal your true forms? After all I wouldn't put it past her to not think that it's a trick I'm pulling on her in revenge for well... for what she and Crescent did."

_**:Perhaps you are right.: **_

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Jazz had gone off the sulk leaving the two girls alone once they had reached the house. So bored and annoyed by Crescent's sudden groping of the Camaro, Cassie eventually found herself lounging on the roof of the garage sunbathing. When Scott's Corvette braked sharply in the driveway below, Crescent joined her on the roof. She smirked as Sam got out of the Corvette, talking in hushed tones. A cruel smirk came over Cassie's face as she glanced at Crescent who was wearing the same expression. Cassie silently shimmied over to the edge of the roof and sat in wait.

"_This _is such a bad idea." she heard Sam hiss as he neared the garage. Scott had fallen back a few steps, his gaze locked on hers briefly as he glanced up to grin at her. "There is no way that this is- Agh!" Sam screeched as Cassie landed in front of him. "Cassie what the hell?!" Sam glared at her as she began to laugh merrily, Scott joined in with her as well as Crescent.

_"I swear; it's sad how much he sounds like a little girl..."_

"I've got to make that my personal ring tone for you Samuel." Cassie said once she managed to gather her breath.

Sam flushed red with embarrassment. "I swear there are times I hate you."

"I love you too." Cassie said as she opened the door and walked into the kitchen. "I should give you fair warning Sam, I got bored today and I redecorated you room to-" Sam darted past her. "-day..." Cassie shrugged.

Scott snickered as she shrugged and opened the fridge to snatch a water bottle. "Did you really do anything?"

"Nah... I just wanted to see him spazz." Cassie said with a grin. "So what have you got planned for tonight?"

"Eh nothing much. Just a bonfire." Scott said grinning as he leaned against the island. "Say you wanna come with me? It's just going to be the love birds and my friends."

Cassie blinked at the redheaded prankster for a few moments before shrugging. "Sure I guess so."

~x~

~Roughly an hour later~

~x~

"Y'know when you said bonfire I didn't expect to be blindfolded." Cassie smirked as she finger pecked the cloth that Scott had put over her peepers.

"Well I know how you hate my driving so I figured that it would help if you didn't see how fast I am going."

"Oh yes because that is _so_ reassuring..." Cassie said dryly. _I swear if he wrecks and kills me I will haunt his ass._

_"Hmm... He's pushing ninety as it is..." _Crescent commented. _"Everything's a blur out there..."_

_So not helping right now. _Cassie thought as her other hand clenched tighter on the seat belt.

_"Ya migh' wanna ease up on da seat belt Cassie. Scott don' look too happy about ya manglin' it." _Jazz commented in her ear.

Crescent scoffed from the back seat, _"She won't let go of her lifeline till he stops."_

_"Then it's a good thing that we're here." _Jazz said as she felt the car skid to a stop. As soon as the motion stopped Cassie was ripping both the blind fold and the seat belt off. Cassie shot Scott a glare as he climbed out of the Corvette.

She turned around and almost ran smack dab into Ratchet. "Are you alright Cassandra? You seem stressed." he said before glaring at Scott.

"I'd be better if someone besides Speedracer back there had given me a ride." she said sourly as she took in the large and kind of dark heavily wooded clearing. "So... where's the fire? I was enticed out here with something burning."

_"You could always use your keychain." _

_I would but if you notice the magnesium is almost wore out. _Cassie thought as she blinked over at the small gathering of vehicles. She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as she stared over at the ambulance, the big black GMC Topkick, and the fancy blue and red Peterbilt truck parked in a semicircle facing the dirt road behind her.

_"Wow..." _Crescent breathed as she stared at them. "_Look at their auras..."_

_They're all like the Camaro and the Corvette..._

The familiar rev of said Camaro sounded behind her. Cassie turned to wave at the three that were stepping out of the yellow and black striped car. "Thanks for waiting for me." she said as she punched Sam in the shoulder as he came up to stand in front of her. "I swear that Scott is out to give me a heart attack."

There was a yelp from Scott who was now nursing his head, courtesy of Ratchet who was growling angrily too low for her to hear anything except every other word. Cassie shrugged and pulled her water bottle out of her jacket pocket and a swig from the bottle.

"Good evening Cassandra."

Cassie swallowed the water down the wrong pipe as Ryan's deep baritone rumbled gracefully from behind her. Cassie sputtered and coughed as her lungs protested the influx of fluid. _Damn it why can't these guys make some freaking noise when they sneak up behind someone? _She thought as her body wracked from her coughing.

She soon found the medic in front of her checking her over. She waved him off as her coughing subsided, and she managed to catch a painful breath. "I'm good... it... just went down wrong..." she gasped.

Ratchet was glaring between her and Ryan who had avoided his gaze sheepishly. As it was he took away her water bottle. Cassie tried not to wince as she took slow steady and sore breaths. As it was they were all looking at her expectantly, almost like they expected her to grow a second head or something. It gave her a serious case of the creeps

"Didn't your mothers tell you that it's rude to stare? For the love of god _blink_ at least." she grumbled. Only a couple of the gathered company, i.e. Scott, Bee, and Mikaela smiled at her comment. The dark mountain of a man (whose name she couldn't remember) narrowed his eyes at her comment, while Ryan regarded her with a serious look on his face. The somberness returned to the air, and the serious looks returned to the others expressions.

"Miss Cooper… we have gathered to speak to you about something very important. I need your solemn promise that you will not speak of this to anyone who is not here. Can you give me that promise?" Ryan began as soon as she had looked at him.

"... Uh sure?" Cassie said as she caught sight of Jazz slipping into the circle, eyeing each of the men gathered there. _I mean I don't see why you guys are acting like there's a ticking time bomb around here,_ She added silently before continuing with, "Yeah I suppose I could keep a secret."

_"They're so serious because they are aliens Cass."_

_What?! _Cassie could have sworn that she heard her neck crack harshly as she snapped her head to stare wide eyed at her twin. Crescent smirked as she mentally screeched, _What do you mean by aliens?_ She didn't notice the fact that she had said this aloud; causing each of the occupants to stare wide eyed at her exclamation.

_"Aliens, as in ET, My Favorite Martian, The day the Earth Stood Still, Independence Day-"_

_"Aliens as in not from this world Cassie. None of them are human and neither am I."_ Jazz spoke up, his accent absent from his voice as he fixed her with a blazing blue gaze.

Cassie _knew_ that her sister often had a weird sense of humor, and wouldn't put it past her to pull off a _serious_ prank like this. The strange thing was, she was now getting help from Jazz to pull it off. She had rarely doubted her sister before, but this time she really had no choice... accusing a group of people of being aliens from another planet? That's the kind of thing that would get you locked in a padded cell for a _long_ time.

"Cassandra." Cassie flinched before she returned her gaze back to Ryan, her face was pale as she eyed him, his aura, it's kind yet commanding vibe settling her uneasiness some... "How do you know that we are not human?"

"..." _Tell me I didn't say that aloud... _Cassie was certain she was as pale as a sheet. As it was Ratchet was once again giving her a narrow look that was tinted with concern.

_"Yep you did."_

"Cassandra how do you know our secret?"

"You mean that was _true_?" she gaped at him.

Scott chuckled. "That we're aliens? Well the answer is duh."

"Real smooth Sideswipe." Sam said sourly.

Cassie blinked at the name.._. Sideswipe... _the name set off bells in her memory...

_~x~_

_"Where is Crescent?"_

_"She is currently downstairs hauntin' Sideswipe." __Jazz shrugged._

_"Sideswipe?"_

_"Scott's Corvette..."_

_~x~_

Ryan gently placed a hand on her shoulder breaking her from her thoughts. "You've been talking to someone named Jazz haven't you?"

Cassie met his gaze, searching for any doubt or shadows. She clenched her hands tightly before nodding. "More like he won't leave me and Crescent alone."

_"Hey Ah'm not tha' bad." _Jazz protested.

_"True, he could be annoying." _Crescent defended the offended saboteur.

_No Crescent that is your job. _Cassie deadpanned.

"Jazz was killed a while back defending your world from our enemies. He was not from this world, and neither are we. We thought that he was lost to us, but we know that you have been talking to his ghost or spirit."

Cassie stared at the man for several moments. "Wait... you… you believe me?"

Ryan nodded. "Jazz has been teaching you a new style of self defense. One that is completely unknown here on Earth. That is why there can be no doubts that you have been speaking with him."

"You believe me." she repeated numbly as she blinked at him.

"Jazz was my First Lieutenant; Head of the Special Operations Division, and it does not surprise me in the slightest that he has figured out a way to let _us_ know, that not only is he truly here, but that he has been speaking with you." Ryan said as he smiled warmly at the girl in front of him.

"You. Freaking. Believe. Me."

"Yes."

"Me. The critically acclaimed nutcase. _ME?!" _she pointed at herself.

"For the love of Primus femme, yes we fragging believe you." Ratchet said irritably. "Just like we believe that most of your psychological issues are moot. If anything the fragging disbelief you've had to deal with has been more damaging to your mental state."

"Meaning you aren't as crazy as the docs thought you were." Sam finally spoke up, his tone apologetic.

"Finally... _Finally_! Someone _else_ believes that I'm not just hallucinating, or losing my mind! I'm... I'm _not_ crazy! They're really _here_! You believe me! Crescent they believe me!" Cassie cheered.

"Cassie… they wanted to tell you from the start, but Sam didn't want to put any more pressure on you." Mikaela said softly as she pulled Cassie into a tight hug. "I'm sorry that we didn't believe you… I mean this… it isn't the kinda thing that happens all the time."

"Cassie… I do not simply believe that you are telling the truth about seeing Jazz and Crescent… I _know_ that you are! You see… the fighting moves that Jazz has been teaching you recently are not known here on Earth. That means there is no possible way you could know those moves _except_ by learning them from Jazz." Sideswipe spoke up from his position against the side of the corvette.

Cassie turned to aim an accusing glare at Jazz. "You knew; didn't you? You knew that this would… that my new lessons would be proof… didn't you?" Cassie said in a growl of anger.

"_Ah didn' know fer sure, but ah kinda hoped it'd work. Ah also had ta do somethin' ta let 'em know ah'm still here."_ Jazz said apologetically. _"Ah am Third in Command ya know, an' tha' responsibility don' stop just cause ah'm offline."_

"I call bull. I knew the two of you were up to something." Cassie said sourly. "I've heard of subtler rattle snakes... Anywhoo what kind of aliens are you anyway?" Cassie asked a returning her gaze back to Ryan as she changed the topic.

"We are Autonomous Robotic Lifeforms from the planet Cybertron, but we use the term Autobots for short." Ratchet answered quickly.

"... So when Jazz was calling the Corvette Sideswipe... He was talking about you." Cassie pointed at the redheaded holoform.

"Yup. We disguise ourselves as cars and trucks. These ones that are parked right here." Sideswipe answered with a cocky grin.

"So_ that's_ why... That's why your cars all have auras, and you don't?" Cassie shouted in surprise. "I honestly thought that Camaro and Corvette were possessed or something, because of the weird auras they have. After all normal cars do _not_ have an aura." This seemed to shock everyone, as the each traded glances at each other.

"Cassandra… am I to understand that you can immediately tell one of us from one of your own Earth vehicles?" Ryan asked in concern.

"Sure... all I have to do is look at the car…" Cassie said smugly before she trailed off. "_That's_ why you put Scott on my back, because of the pedocop with the same kind of aura thing going on that you have isn't it?"

"Regrettably so. Barricade is from a faction that is currently at war with our own. I am afraid that he has chosen to target you and the rest of your family because of young Samuel's association with us."

Cassie's brows knit together as a thought occurred to her. She held up her hand. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but, I can't help but to notice the fact that their names," she pointed to each man respectively as she singled them out; "Sideswipe," "Ratchet," "and Bee are obviously not human names. So I must assume that your own isn't actually Ryan. So what is your real name?"

"My real name is Optimus Prime." He said as he vanished in a shower of electric sparks. Cassie jumped in shock before a whirl of shifting hydraulic and metal drew her attention to the Peterbilt that had begun to shift and transform right before her eyes.

"HOLY SHIT!"


	14. Chapter 13: Fireside Chat

***Hangs head in shame* Okay so I will admit that I am late with this chapter... I had a small teeny tiny writer's block. *Points to the smoldering remains of said writer's block.* Khalthar helped me break free finally! **

**Anyways I guess that I do owe you guys a new chapter... This chapter is only half beta'd since I added a little more to what did get checked over, I will update the chapter when I get the fully beta'd chapter, but I just couldn't wait to post this because my muse has been going at it for the better part of the last day laughing maniacally... In fact I think I'm more scared of her right now than the taxman... XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers**

**Many thanks to my beta Khalthar for helping me out! **

**The rest of the thankyous have been relocated to the end of the chapter seeing as the list has become massive and takes up almost a page by itself.. But don't fear I still love all of you!**

**Word count: ~2687**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Fireside Conversations.**

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

"You can glare all you want Ratchet I'm not handing over my marshmallows." Cassie said as she tightened her grip on the bag of sweets as she bore the full force of the medic's glare.

"Those things are horrible for your system." Ratchet growled as he made to reach for the bag once more before glaring at Sideswipe. "Why would you even allow her to bring that wretched slag?"

"It was one of the compromises that she demanded in order for me to get her to come..." Sides said as he ducked one of the wrenches that Ratchet had pulled from his subspace. He smirked at Ratchet who pulled out another one and taunted him with it.

"Yeah well if you didn't drive like someone shoved a rocket engine up your tailpipe I'd be more keen on taking a ride from you. As I have told you before, I prefer to arrive at my intended destination alive. You may be one of the most superb drivers on this rock but you still have to take into account that there are other idiots driving on the streets."

Sideswipe was torn between pride, and being insulted from her brief scolding. The girl was still insulting his driving yet she did make it point that it wasn't him per se that she was insulting. As it was Ratchet was watching the brunette glare at the frontliner's holoform with a mildly amused smile on his lips. That was before she turned to face him as he reached again for the bag while her attention was divided.

"Look here doc. I'm going by the YOLO method and if you try to take my goodies away once more I swear that I am going to find a tire-iron and beat you with it."

Ratchet's eyes narrowed. "YOLO?"

"You Only Live Once." Cassie said before opening the bag. "Its meaning is to live life to the fullest, and besides a little sugar isn't going to completely throw my diet out of whack anyway. It's not like I'm a carnivore like Samuel."

"It's not my fault you don't like meat." Sam quipped.

"As I've said, it's my choice to be a vegetarian. I prefer my food not to have eyes... Save for potatoes of course."

"... Potatoes have optics?" Bee blinked at Cassie.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

The food bickering went on for a little while but as she sat there listening to both the bots as well as Crescent and Jazz talk a previously stated question popped into her head as Crescent jokingly called Jazz Methuselah.

"So what's it like to live for millions of years?" the question was out of her lips before she could stop herself.

Sam choked on his marshmallow at her question blinking over to look at the mixed expressions of the holoforms. Out of all of them, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Bee looked the most sour over her innocuous inquiry.

"I'm not that _old."_ Bee grumbled.

"What he said. Though, If I'm not mistaken the Hatchet is over ten million of your 'years'." Sideswipe smirked and instantly regretted it as a wrench whacked his holoform in the forehead.

"Keep it up and I'll make your next physical hurt." Ratchet glowered at him.

"I hurt now." Sides whined as he rubbed his head.

_"It's no differen' than how you live out your lives."_ Jazz shrugged.

Optimus smiled gently before repeating the same. "Other than the war, our lives are no different than yours. We lived our lives, had families, and worked..."

"... I see..." Cassie said quietly, not voicing her thoughts. _I bet we are nothing but a blink of the optic for them... a blip in time that they'll barely even notice..._

_"Like how we see the life of an insect... Short and fleeting."_ Crescent said quietly as Jazz blinked over at them.

_"It's not like they'd forget abou' ya if tha's wha' ya are worried abou'."_

_"It'd still be like remembering that one unforgettable summer vacation way back when. Short and brief but memorable. Barely the blink of an eye for them."_

"One thing I'd like to know is why Jazz is still here and not in the Well." Ironhide's dark blue eyes studied her in calculative manner. Jazz shifted as she glanced at him briefly looking for his approval to tell the truth. He shook his head no.

_"Ah'd prefer them not to know why I didn't go to the Well."_

"He doesn't know why he was kicked out of Heaven. Only that he's stuck here." Cassie said dismissively in an attempt to avoid the topic. "So um... Am I right to guess that's your guys' version of Heaven?"

"That would be correct." Optimus answered her question as she blinked at him. "The Well of Sparks is both the birthplace and the final resting place for our kind."

Sam blinked owlishly as if the thought of the Autobots having a religion was new to him... Maybe it was; Lord knew that Sam was bright at times but absolutely clueless at others... "So then your version of Hell would be..?" He asked.

"The Pit. Sam I already told this to you before... What did you do, ignore me?" Bee frowned at his charge.

Sam smiled weakly. "Not completely... I remember that Primus is your deity... And the Allspark was his gift to your people to create new life. Annnd the rest kind of slipped my mind..."

"Sam you're hopeless you know that?" Cassie said as she plunged her stick into the fire. "It's no wonder you suck at math."

"Gee you don't have to be such a critic."

Cassie glared. "I wouldn't have to be if you wouldn't slack off."

"What? Who said anything about slacking?"

"I have it on a pair of reliable resources that you've spent the better half of the week dicking around on Call of Duty when you haven't been with Kae."

Sam sputtered as several of the bots chuckled softly at the flabbergasted teen. "You've been _spying _on me?"

Cassie grinned. "Not directly."

Sam made more sputtering sounds as he tried to come up with a retort.

"Cassie your stick's on fire." Mikaela pointed at the slowly creeping flames.

Cassie tossed the stick into the embers. "I should have brought the watermelon." she sighed. "How many does this make?" She asked as she snatched up a new stick and plopped a new marshmallow on it.

_"Five."_ Crescent replied before going back to her plotting with Jazz.

"While we are on the topic of Jazz, that picture you drew of him. How is it that he appears human to you." Jazz even raised a brow at Bee's question.

Sideswipe frowned. "That is a very good question. Especially since most of these guys didn't have the upgrade until I made planetfall."

"Actually I did find the remains rudimentary version of a holoform projector inside of Jazz as I repairing his frame." Ratchet pointed out. "I didn't think much of it at the time and I ignored it for the most part."

_"It was not completely functional seeing as it was Wheeljack's prototype." _Jazz commented.

"He said it was Wheeljack's original prototype." Cassie relayed the message. "And that it didn't work right."

"Makes sense but it still doesn't answer my question." Bee pointed out.

Cassie sighed. "I'm not really sure how my mind perceives his spirit. Heck Crescent says that half the time he just looks like a massive sphere of pure energy to her. You know kind of like a ghost ball but the size of a person." _Did I get that right?_

_"Yep."_

"Ghostball?" Sideswipe blinked at the term.

"Google it." Cassie sighed.

Jazz blinked. _"Is that really how you see meh?"_

_"Yep."_

The bots were staring at her. "What Crescent sees is his spark." Ratchet said as she blinked at the term.

"Okay... I think I'm gonna have to start a translation dictionary to keep up with all the new terms... Tell me do you guys have curse words?"

Both Bee and Sideswipe snickered at the question.

"... how could we not? If you'd like I can teach you s-" Sideswipe was cut of by yet another wrench to the head.

Bee snickered even more. "Cassie if you really want to learn some Cybertronian curses just hang out around Ratchet for a day and you'll learn them all." Bee ducked the wrench that was aimed at him. Both Optimus and Ironhide chuckled while Ratchet glared at them all.

"Cassandra, seeing as tomorrow is the end of your school week, Sam will be coming out to our base of operations along with Bee and Mikaela. I would like it if you and Sideswipe would accompany them this weekend. Unfortunately due to having to inform you of our presence, you will be required by your human government to sign your self into secrecy and silence."

"Oh joy." Cassie said sourly. "Just how I wanted to spend my weekend. Buried under paperwork."

_"And that's different from any other weekend how? Just because you won't have your nose in a text book you actually get bent outta shape?"_

Cassie narrowed her eyes at Crescent as she retorted, _I like being ahead while I can be._

_"Yeah well if they would have tested you like they should have you'd be in the same grade as Sammyboy."_

_I haven't even begun to worry about college yet. Being where I am gives me a chance to decide what I want to do with my life._

_"Egghead." _Crescent stuck out her tongue.

Cassie shook her head as she chose to ignore Crescent. Her gaze caught sight of Ratchet staring at her intently. "What did I say about staring?"

Ratchet chuckled a little. "Forgive me Cassie. I was waiting for you to finish speaking with Crescent so I didn't interrupt you."

"Um... thanks? But how did you know-?"

"Who do you think had to deal with Sideswipe and his brother the most? Primus knows that he and his brother are reckless to a T. I've picked up a thing or two about twinbonds... Granted I do not know nearly as much as Sideswipe himself, but enough to know when they are talking to one another. Anyways, I would like to have a longer in depth discussion about your ability this weekend and to perhaps discredit your past doctors for you to your aunt and uncle."

Cassie blinked up at Ratchet. "Couldn't you just outright tell them that I'm not suffering from schizophrenia?"

"I would if we hadn't been forced to tell Sam's parents the same patronizing lie we originally told you." Ratchet gave Sam a glare.

"So Aunt Judy and Uncle Ron don't know? Sam what the hell?" Cassie brandished her stick tipped with a flaming marshmallow on it.

Sam eyed the burning treat nervously. "Easy with that marshmallow Cassie."

"You realize that Aunt Judy is gonna go full out Cooper Matriarch on your ass with Excalibur right?"

"Excalibur?" Sideswipe asked in confusion.

"Her bat." Sam, Cassie, Mikaela, and Bee said simultaneously in a tone of dread.

~x~

~Sam~

~x~

Tonight had actually gone better than Sam could have hoped for... Minus the fact that he was still getting used to the idea of his cousin being able to see ghosts... but when comparing that to the fact that his best friend was an alien that just happened to take the form of his car... yeah... He decided that he could just roll with it...

Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide had left to head back to the base a while ago, leaving the five of them to sit and idly chat. Most of it revolving around pranks that Sideswipe had pulled on Ratchet and Ironhide. Mikaela was curled up on his lap sleeping.

"So you two were like the kings of pranks then..." Cassie yawned as she tried to keep her eyes open.

"You bet. It's the easiest way to wind down... not much else to do while fighting in a war." Sideswipe said with a smile.

"... What did you do before the war?" she mumbled.

Sideswipe stiffened as he blinked over at her. "I... I used to brew and sell my own special blend of high grade." he said after several minutes. "It's kind of like your alcohol..." Sideswipe said before a tense silence fell between them. Sam noted the saddened look in Sideswipe's usually bright eyes. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He should probably warn her about staying away from touching sensitive topics... Though he was surprised that Jazz hadn't already warned her not to ask...

Sam gazed over at Cassie, she was leaning against Bee's holoform, eyes closed... she had finally drifted off. Sam sighed as he poked his own koala who blinked up at him wearily.

"As much as I'd like to make this a camp out we should probably get going." he said with a yawn. "We still have school tomorrow. I don't want to get reamed out for 'slaking off'."

"Yeah I guess." Mikaela mumbled as she sat up and stretched.

"I'll take the first patrol. Take Cassie home with you guys." Sideswipe told Bee as he watched the blond holoform scoop her up. Bee smirked and Sides' eyes narrowed for a second before he sighed and walked over to Sam.

"You know Sam I'm surprised that you haven't gotten even with Cassie for your... new makeover..." the red haired holoform slung an arm around his shoulders and gave him a noogie.

A flare of anger ran through him before he smirked. "Oh trust me, I will get even with her."

"Oh really? Care to make a bet on that?" Sideswipe grinned.

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe sat in his holoform staring up at the stars above his spark aching for that vital piece of himself, the other half of his soul. His blue eyes searching the ever burning lights with nothing but a short prayer for a sign… a hint of a whisper... _anything._

But as usual his prayers went unanswered, and no sign of Sunny would be given to him this night... the twilight grey of the approaching dawn was creeping over the horizon already signaling the start of the new day to come.

A hand caressed the side of his altmode drawing his attention over as Cassie hopped up onto his hood beside him. "It should be illegal to look so forlorn." she said quietly.

"Shouldn't you be in bed recharging?" He eyed her pajamas.

Cassie said nothing as she stared up at the stars. After a while she sighed before turning her gaze to meet his blue glare. Sideswipe blinked at the pale almost white grey eyes. "I only came to down to tell you thank you. I know that you probably aren't the happiest one in the world to be stuck with me and my twin, but Jazz told me the seriousness of being a Guardian."

"Yeah well someone's gotta look out for you."

"Yeah... Because I can only do so much for Cassie..."

Sideswipe narrowed his gaze at the femme before checking his chronometer it was 5:05.

"_Crescent?_" Sideswipe hissed before she grinned.

"Who else?" she said as she pulled her knees up and resting her arms on them. "I know I'm just going to piss her off by doing this, but I figured she deserved at least _one_ night where she isn't waking from my nightmares..."

"How are you doing this?"

The girl smiled sadly as she said, "Trade secret. Albeit it's not a well kept one but I'm sure you can use your awesome netsurfing capabilities to figure it out..." the girl slid off of him and slowly made her way towards the house.

* * *

**The Fav/follolist.. is has grown! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Jester's Joke, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Rumbling Frenzy and Yuki420 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Oh and Jasmin SiMing, I unfortunately haven't played Beyond: Two Souls but I did google it and it does sound like a really interesting game... *pouts* I wanna play it now...**

* * *

**Q: Should I eventually throw in some romance and with who? Even if I did it'll probably be a while... But still let me know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 14: It Begins

**Shabam! New freaking chapter hot off the presses courtesy of a half crazed muse and an author wondering if she's been inadvertently poisoned by her family (My bottled water tastes like fabric softener... XP ) ... And the awesome beta of course. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers**

**Many thanks to my beta Khalthar for helping me out! **

**The rest of the thankyous have been relocated to the end of the chapter seeing as the list has become massive and takes up almost a page by itself.. But don't fear I still love all of you!**

**Word count for this chapter coming in at a smooth 2050**

* * *

**Chapter 14: It Begins**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

"Cassie."

Cassie growled and burrowed deeper into her pillow as the hand that had shaken her repeated the action. "Cassie come on! Judy said that if you want to eat you need to get dressed and come downstairs."

"Go away." she hissed.

"Cassie are you feeling well?"

"If I say yes will you go away?"

"No. Besides it's 7:00, and you never sleep in."

Cassie sat up quickly; almost head butting Bee as she snatched the alarm clock off the counter to glare at the bright red numbers in disbelief. "T-That's not possible... I slept in... I _actually _slept in." Her eyes shot to the corner where Crescent was talking quietly with Jazz. Crescent smiled weakly at her. Cassie tossed the clock back on the night stand and stretched.

Bee turned away and made his way to the door. "Well anyways Judy says come get it while it's warm." He closed the door behind him quickly.

~x~

~Bee~

~x~

Bee tried to ignore the inquisitive glance that Sideswipe shot him from the other side of the table as he sat down with his bottle of energon. _**:What?: **_he narrowed his eye at him.

_**:She's up right?:**_

_**:I woke her up, so she should be coming dow-"**_

Sam screeched as a door upstairs slammed against the wall. "Cassie what the-"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?!"

"CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M BUSY?!"

Judy smiled as she sipped on her coffee, cradling the cup of warm Joe between both hands. She turned that smile on to Ron who had glimpsed over his newspaper to meet his wife's happy gaze. "See this is why we should have had more children..."

"I KNOW YOU TOOK MY CONTACTS; NOW WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?"

"I'M USING THE FREAKING BATHROOM HERE! GET THE HELL OUT CASSIE!"

Ron mumbled something about his wife needing to lay off the special brownies before returning to his paper.

"NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH THEM!"

"YOU'VE GOT GLASSES, WEAR THEM!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, FINE! GOOD LUCK WIPPING YOUR ASS!"

"HEY!" A minute passed. "CASSIE! MOM! DAD! BEE!"

Ron glanced at his watchless wrist. "Will you look at that? I'm late for work." Ron said as he quickly fled the dinning room.

"ANYBODY BUT CASSIE; HELP!"

Judy shook her head as she chuckled. "Toilet paper is in the hall closet." she called out as she began to clean up hers and Ron's plates.

Bee sighed as he went to go 'save' his charge.

Sideswipe was laughing over the commlink the whole damned time.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Crescent and Jazz was watching Cassie as she was torn between growling angrily and laughing manically as she was currently working on the project that she had started several days ago. "Jerk thinks he can win he's got another thing coming to him." Cassie grinned evilly as she checked the barrel of her new toy.

_"Why does tha' look like a gun?"_

_"Because it is one... Nice touch adding the pneumatics; now it's an automatic..." _Crescent eyed the gun.

"I just have to remember to buy uncle Ron an new nailgun for Christmas. Crescent add that to the list."

"Cassie… is it safe to come in or are you still working on being diabolical?" Sideswipe called into the garage.

"It depends; did you bring my superglue?"

A bag was thrust into the opening. "And the duct tape."

"You may enter."

"Have you at least packed your overnight bag for the weekend?" Sideswipe asked as she swiped the bag from him.

"Yeah." she nodded at the backpack on the counter beside her.

"Bee just picked up Sam so we should get this stuff all put away don't you think?" Sideswipe eyed her invention.

"Hm... I suppose." she grinned before pulling the trigger and shooting him in the head with the soft projectile.

"Hey." Sideswipe caught it and held the soft cotton item, frowning at it.

"Had to make sure it works." she giggled as the sound of Bee's engine pulling into the driveway. Cassie grinned broadly as Sam screeched her name.

Sides raised an interested brow as she motioned for him to follow her. Sam was currently fighting with the flag pole, which she had greased the rope that he was struggling with, trying to get his batman boxers down.

"Damn it Cassie! This isn't over." Sam growled.

"Of course it isn't; you haven't given me my contacts back. Once you return my eyes; I'll leave you alone. Until then you can expect _absolutely _no quarter from me." Cassie crossed her arms.

"You ain't gonna win." Sam began to bite at the knot, grimacing from the taste of the grease.

"When you want to admit defeat, just let me know."

"Never." Sam sat as he finally freed the rope from its knot.

Cassie smirked. "Have it your way."

~x~

~Timeskip~

~x~

Cassie sighed as she focused on counting backwards from a thousand in her head trying to ignore the speedometer. Sideswiped hadn't blindfolded her this time, having opted for darkening his windows so that she couldn't see out. Jazz and Crescent had ridden with Bee to help keep track of any possible countermeasures Sam might be plotting against her.

"I'm surprised Judy let you come along with us with little protest."

"Yeah well it's not like I was grounded this week... though I'm sure she's worried about me." Cassie sighed as she noted that he was going roughly 95... "Maybe I should have taken my anxiety meds..."

"I thought that the Hatchet was gonna help get you off of your meds..."

Cassie sighed and glanced at the radio. "As much as I say that I don't need them... I do need a couple of my meds... Mainly the ones for depression and anxiety." she said quietly. "I don't really suppose you guys have any real mental problems do you?"

"We call them glitches."

Cassie pondered this and her thoughts kept coming back to a normal computer... "Is it as bad as I think it is?"

"When they come into effect they cause out processors to overwork and fritz causing the bot's CPU to crash. It's actually pretty funny sometimes. There's this bot that I know, Prowl, he's got a fairly complex battle computer, and logical processor so anytime he's presented with something completely illogical he glitches." Sideswipe chuckled.

"Why do I have a feeling you like making him crash?" Cassie shook her head.

"Because he's the second in charge and is a complete stick in the aft?"

_So... Jazz is in love with the SIC... wow. I wonder... _"Say Sides, how do relationships work out for you guys? I mean do you guys have actually have female counterparts or are you all asexual or would it be bisexual?" Cassie frowned as she thought over the last part.

Sideswipe swerved and his engine sputtered as he screeched to a stop. The interior had warmed slightly and if Cassie didn't now any better she'd swear that he was blushing. "Flustered are we?" she asked as she slowly pried her fingers from the death grip she had put his seatbelt through.

"I-I think that _that_ is a question better saved for Ratchet." Sideswipe choked as he must have gathered his composure and had resumed trying to catch up to the Camaro that had passed him.

Cassie smirked as she taunted the Corvette. "Aw... are we shy?"

"As if. I just don't feel like giving an anatomy lesson to a fleshy. And for the record I am _not _asexual." his voice was holding an offended and defensive tone.

"Whatever you say. It was just an innocent question." Cassie held her hands up in defeat. "I'm sure you're very... mechly and macho underneath your _pretty _silver paint."

"I am one of the best and don't forget it girl." Sideswipe preened.

Cassie chuckled and shook her head. _Males._

_~x~_

~Meanwhile with Crescent~

~x~

Crescent was currently engaging in the act of poking Sam in the back of his head while he grumped about Cassie.

"You know; if you would just give her back her contacts, she would probably just leave you alone." Bee pointed out as he sped along behind the corvette.

"Yeah well look what she did to me! And to you! You can't tell me that she doesn't deserve at least _some _kind of ,payback." Sam crossed his arms as he rolled his shoulders.

Bee sighed. "Look whatever but you two better leave me out of it... Worse, don't let Sideswipe get involved."

Sam winced.

_"So tell meh why did we ride with Sam an' Bee again?"_ Jazz asked as he had also taken to poking Sam.

"Please tell me you didn't." Bee had caught the wince.

Sam threw his hands in the air. "I needed some stuff and he offered to go pick it up for me since he had to go on patrol today."

"Sam..."

"Look it was only a little hair dye..."

"It's your funeral if Ratchet finds out."

Crescent grinned. "_Well... mainly to spy on him so that Cassie has the upper hand... though "I'm not so sure I'm going to relay everything the idiot says back to her."_

_"Why not?"_ Jazz blinked.

Crescent shrugged. _"Because Sammyboy is doomed no matter what if he can't outsmart Cassie." _She said as she increased her poking. Sam began to fidget even more in the seat trying to get away from her touch. _"Besides I am watching him just like she told me to. Not telling her everything just keeps her on her toes, that's all." _

"Sam would you please sit still I can't concentrate with you squirming like that." Bee complained. Just as the Corvette came to a screeching stop on the road in front of them.

"I would love to but -Argh- I can't get this weird feeling to go away..."

Bee let out an exasperated sigh. "Then maybe you should ask Crescent or Jazz to leave you alone."

Sam blinked at the radio. "Come again?"

"You've got a weird tingling feeling right?"

"Yeah..." Sam glanced around the cabin.

"From what I've gathered... That weird feeling is associated with those two."

"..."

"..."

"Gah! Stop poking me!"

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

She had made her way down to three hundred eighty seven when Sideswipe lightened the windows and slowed his speed to just under thirty. They were coming up on a moderately busy military base.

"We're here."

"Oh goodie." Cassie said as she watched the patrolling soldiers. As they approached one of the larger hangars they were joined by the large black truck that she recognized as Ironhide.

Once inside the hanger Cassie was out of Sideswipe in a heart beat stretching her back, while smirking at Sam who was glaring at her. Of course she couldn't completely blame him considering the fact that Crescent was currently draped over Sam's back like a koala, poking him.

_"How was your ride?" _Crescent grinned as she waved at her.

_Fine... Now could you get off of Sam?_

_"I suppose... Oh and do keep an eye out for your shampoo."_

_Noted. _Cassie smiled as two soldiers approached her and Sam.

"Hey kid, don't tell me you've ditched Mikaela." the tall bald African American soldier said as he came up and slapped her cousin on the back.

Cassie grimaced. "I'm his cousin."

"So you're the infamous Cassie." the honey blonde soldier said with a smile.

"Infamous?" Cassie's eyes narrowed on Sam who inched away from her.

_"Well 'e did kinda forewarn O.P. and Lennox abou' ya comin' ta live with him. Ah was there the day that he told em about ya." _Jazz intervened.

"My name is Major William Lennox, and this is Staff Sergeant Robert Epps. We're the guys in charge of the humans that are running around here." Lennox said holding his hand.

"Pleasure to meet the two of you." she said taking the hand.

"Welcome to NEST."

* * *

**The Fav/follolist.. it has grown more! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, and Morgageb for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**

**Oh and just in case anyone never caught it, way back in the Prologue I did point out that she does wear corrective lenses... But with all the times Cassie's gotten the crud beat out of her she also has contact. :) **


	16. Chapter 15: Almost Normal

**And I think with this chapter I am caught up to date with my chapter a week posting speed! Yes! And I'm halfway through Chapter 16! Expect it soonish!**

**Many thanks to my awesome beta Khalthar for helping me out! **

**The rest of the thankyous have been relocated to the end of the chapter seeing as the list has become massive and takes up almost a page by itself.. But don't fear I still love all of you!**

**Word count is in at 2089**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Almost Normal**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Lennox and Epps had taken her on a tour of the base while Sam got saddled with taking care of her bags. It hadn't surprised her that Sam had told them about her supposedly being crazy... Another mark against him on her revenge list.

However Ratchet had already spoken to them at length to ignore what Sam had said. Upon seeing the somewhat stormy look on her face, Lennox had laughed and told her that everyone had their own right to be a little crazy and that they knew better than to make assumptions.

Over the course of an hour and half later she had seen the better part of the base, met Figg, who gotten into a rapid round of Spanish with her (much to the dismay of Lennox and Epps), and had ran into a slightly grumpy Ratchet who confiscated her and hauled her off to the Med Bay. Jazz had opted for hunting down O.P. and shadowing him in lieu of going to the Hatchet's kingdom.

Which where she was currently sitting listening to Crescent sing 99 Bottles of Whatever on the Wall…

_Why does he keep looking at me like that?_

_"Like what?" _Crescent blinked from Cassie to Ratchet's holoform. Said holoform was currently engaged in tapping her sister's vein.

_Like I'm something he hasn't seen before._

_"He looks appreciative if you ask me." _Crescent commented as he finished taping the bandage on her arm. Crescent draped herself around her shoulders. _"At least consider this; he hasn't thrown a wrench at you yet... Jazz says he always threatens people with his wrench. Even Sam."_

_Yeah... I don't have any plans of getting hit by that thing. _Cassie watched the holoform walk over to his bot mode and place the fragile tubes into his servo before it flickered away into a shower of blue sparkles. "So... um... why did you need a blood sample?"

"I like know that all of my patients are perfectly healthy." Ratchet commented as he turned away from her.

"Oh." was Cassie's quiet response.

Several minutes passed before Ratchet turned and glanced down at her once more. "Are you aware that your electromagnetic field is significantly more defined than most humans?"

Cassie shook her head. Ratchet hmmed again before a blue flash of light and an accompanying tingling sensation ran across her body. She shivered.

_"That felt weird..." _

_Wait you felt that?_

"Hm..."

Cassie raised a brow as he frowned down at her. _Okay... I'm getting tired of hearing 'hm'. _The scan ran across her again. Crescent growled as she detached herself from Cassie. _"I'm getting tired of that damned scanner... Mind telling Bones to stop it already."_

_I am not calling him Bones._

_"Why? From what I've seen and what Jazz has told me, he acts just like Doc McCoy from Star Trek." _She said before growling as a third one ran over them again.

_Crescent... _Cassie vented a sigh through her nose as she turned her gaze back onto Ratchet.

"Are you two done arguing?" the neon medic asked with a quirk of his own optical ridge.

_"No."_

"Yes." Cassie shot a glare at the spirit.

"I would like to run a deeper scan on you and Crescent... Mainly Crescent. But I wanted your consent first."

_"Hell no. The first one itched as it is."_

"Um..."

"Would it help to mention that your field was certainly different on the third time?"

Cassie frowned. "Crescent was hanging on to me until your third scan... She said that she could feel it... Which is weird since she really can't feel anything being well... you know."

_"Unless I posses you..."_

_Please don't even think about that. _

"Hm..."

"I suppose you could do the scan... though I have to warn you that Crescent's making a run for it." Cassie said as she noted that her sister had bolted for the door.

_"See ya later!"_

Ratchet shook his head with a sigh. "I'm surprised that you even agreed. Most of the people I treat -bots and humans alike- fight me or in the very least complain."

"Self preservation. I don't want to get whacked by that wrench of yours."

"Finally someone with common sense."

Cassie snorted. "Oh yes, the crazy one is the one who has common sense."

"You are _not_ insane Cassandra, just very misunderstood."

Cassie smiled sadly. "Ain't that the truth... but... you have to remember that there is a fine line between sanity and Insanity. And everyone has just a touch of Insanity. Mine just happens to be in the form of my dead twin sister."

~x~

~Bee~

~x~

It was dinner time, and Cassie had gone to grab herself another glass of milk. Giving Sam the prime opportunity to slip half a bottle of habanero sauce into her tomato soup and stir it up. He snickered quietly to himself as Bee shot him a "Really?" look.

"Not a word or I will not wash you."

Bee raised a brow. "Cassie gives a better wash and wax than you do anyways." He added seriously.

"Come on Bee, I've got to get ahead while I can. Now shush." Sam glared just before Cassie plopped down in her seat.

Bee sighed and took a swig of his energon.

"Okay I've got to ask, what is in the bottle? I never see you eat anything." Cassie pointed at his bottle. He cringed as she took a spoonful of her soup and breathed on it to cool it. _Like that will really help..._

"This is energon." Bee said as she popped the spoon in her mouth. Her eyes widened a fraction before glancing at her cousin who was smirking at her. Cassie shrugged and gathered another spoonful much to Sam's disappointment.

"Okay... So what is energon?"

"It's what powers our fuel cells. It is also our life blood. I drink it to power my nanites that I use to create the holoform."

Cassie was halfway through the soup with no sing of stopping. Sideswipe slipped into the chair next to her. "Hey what's up?"

"Not much. So Bee... Have you guys tried eating human food?"

Bee smiled sadly. "It's a no go. Anything we 'try' has to be purged because our systems can't process the food. Though it would be nice to try some things... Maybe when Wheeljack gets here he can fine tune the holoforms..."

"Imagine it... Ice cream..." Sideswipe said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Cake..."

"Candy..."

"Cookies..."

Cassie raised a brow before placing her hands in her lap. "Like Ratchet would let you guys even touch the stuff. He seems like he'd be a sugar Nazi. You should stick to natural stuff like apples and strawberries. They're sweet and good."

All three of them stared at her. "There is something _seriously_ wrong with you Cassie." Sam deadpanned.

"Forgive me for eating healthy Samuel. Oh and nice touch with the hot sauce, I thought the soup was a little bland."

"I knew I should have used the whole bottle." Sam grumbled as she stuck her tongue out. He cursed a second later as something soft smacked harshly into his forehead and stuck there. "What the..." Sam crossed his eyes as he tried to look at the thing. He frowned and tried to yank on the thing only to hiss in pain. He glanced at Cassie in time to have another projectile seal itself to his nose.

Epps, Figg, and Lennox happened to be walking by at that moment in time, and all three took one look at Sam before bursting out laughing. Sam Growled before sucking it up and ripping the object from his forehead to stare at... "A _tampon_? Argh!" he yelled as he yanked the one on his nose off. Both were soon replaced and accompanied by five more before Cassie bolted from the table laughing her head off.

"Have fun Samuel!"

"CASSIE!"

"_Whoa_! An' here I thought Hide was a good shot!" Epps exclaimed with a wide grin.

Figg's eyes shot wide open before his knees buckled and he fell to the floor because he was laughing so hard.

Lennox took a look at Sam's face with tampons now super glued to his chin, each cheek, his nose, one in the center of his forehead, and one above each eyebrow before he started chocking, coughing, and struggling with laughter at the same time. It took him a minute before he could speak. "Sam… _never_ get into a shooting match with her. You'll lose… _badly_!" Before he couldn't hold it back any longer and actually _howled_ with laughter himself.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

She was leaning against hangar wall staring up at the Nevadan sky. The sky was much clearer here than it was in Detroit... The view was both breath taking and saddening... She missed the view of the city lights from both Detroit and Windsor... The hum of the city underneath everything, out here the noise was down to a minimum. The only real noise coming from the occasional patrol. She wasn't certain if she hated or liked the silence.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up caught her attention. She glanced over to see the large black Topkick parked not too far away from her. "Hello Ironhide." She said before returning her gaze skyward.

"Shouldn't you be in recharge youngling?"

"I should, but I'm not now am I?" she said a small smile gracing her lips. "I wanted to take advantage of this." She waved her hand outwards. "I don't think I've ever seen so many stars in one sitting before... I couldn't pass this up."

The truck shifted into his bipedal mode before settling next to the tiny human. They sat in silence for sometime before Ironhide spoke up, "I heard about that gun you made. I thought it to be cute."

"Samuel deserved it."

"He deserved having feminine hygiene products glued to his face?" Amused blue optics glanced downward at her.

Cassie sighed. "You go spreading crap around about a gal and tell me what you expect from her."

"Hm... I suppose you are right." He said after a minute of mulling it over. Several more minutes of stargazing passed before he asked, "How good of a shot are you?"

Cassie blinked up at the bot. "Point blank? I'm good. Distance? I suck. My instructor Reggie said I was almost hopeless with how bad I was."

"I thought you were home schooled."

"I was. But my dad was kind of took me to work with him to teach me. One of the desk lieutenants, Reggie found me in the garage one day and told my dad, 'This kid needs exercise'. Next thing I know she's kicking my ass into the mats and teaching me aikido. She kind of looked out for me on the days my dad had to go out on patrol. My dad taught me karate and the brute force stuff... I was supposed to register myself this month for my license." she bit her lip as she smiled at the memory of the day she had face planted her dad into the mat. He had been so proud of her on that day... that he promptly went another round and paid her back.

"Driver's license?"

Cassie smirked up at the bot. "Oh no. I already got that... Once you reach a certain degree in martial arts you're supposed to register your hands as lethal weapons." She glanced at her hands. "Like I really could get the gumption up to kill someone... now beat them to a bloody pulp that I could do easily... But kill?" She shook her head.

"You'd be surprised at what you will do to survive kid." Ironhide said. "Take a look at Optimus. Before the war he was a data clerk... A librarian."

Cassie's eyes widened as she was floored by that statement. "No way."

Ironhide chuckled. "I used to be a dock worker. Ratchet was a senator. Bee... he was just a sparkling when the youth sectors were bombed..."

"And Sideswipe?"

Ironhide remained silent for several minutes before quietly saying, "The twins... Their past... it wasn't pretty. That is for him and his twin to tell. "

"Oh..."

Several minutes passed while the two of them turned their gazes back up to the sky. "Did you really mean to teach me how to shoot?"

"If you'd like me to."

"I think I would like that." Cassie said as she met his optics. "So... whereabouts is Cybertron?"

"Well you see that space right there..."

* * *

**-.-? The last part _was _going to be Sam setting up his next prank but Ironhide just shoved him aside to the next chapter...**

**...**

**The Fav/follolist.. it has grown more! Add your name to the ever growing list! XD**

**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber,Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, , Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	17. Chapter 16: From Simmering to Boiling

**Bah... April must be mother nature's time of the month or something... The freaking bipolar weather is making my head hurt... But hey I did manage to finish chapter 16 with the help of the ever awesome Khalthar. **

**Many thanks to my aforementioned beta.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers**

**Word count: 2664**

**Chapter warnings: everybody's favorite prick and a F-bomb.**

* * *

Chapter 16: From Simmering to Boiling

~x~-

~Bee~

~x~

Sam was grinning as he wolfed down the plate of eggs and hash browns in front of him. Bee could only begin to wonder what his charge was plotting against his cousin. He didn't have to wait long as Cassie stormed into the mess hall. Her irritation and anger was almost tangible as several of the soldiers quickly stepped out of her way as she made her way over to where he and Sam were sitting.

Bee was left blinking up at her in shock. _Funny how a skirt and a pair of glasses can change how one looks... _He thought as he shook his head. No need to stall his processor staring at her... She was clearly pissed enough from the catcalls the soldiers were giving her.

"If you think you've won you are _gravely_ mistaken Sam." Cassie scowled at him as she sat down at the table.

"Bring it on cuz." He smirked.

"Oh I will." She growled before turning around and promptly leaving the mess hall.

Sam let out a breath of relief now that she was gone. "I thought for sure she was gonna beat the crap out of me."

"Don't you fleshies have a saying that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Sideswipe asked as he passed their table.

"Why are you even in here?" Sam spat as the holoform chuckled and vanished.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

_I swear if I have to tape his ass naked to the walls of the barracks to get even with him I will. _Cassie thought darkly.

_"I think you look nice." _Crescent said cheerfully.

_"Oh come now it's not like da dress looks bad on ya."_

"Jazz shut it while you're ahead. I do not wear skirts for a reason." she hissed before turning to shoot a death glare of pure death at a soldier who wolf whistled at her. "I swear I am putting my fist into the larynx of the next person to whistle at me."

"Hey you intern!" Cassie blinked at the voice and turned to find a slightly balding man in a suit come walking over to her. His expression was anything but happy as if the man had nothing better than to make everyone else's lives miserable for his own enjoyment.

_I don't really look like an intern do I? _Cassie put on a slight smile even despite her mood, which considerably as his eyes swept over her form.

_"Welll... The glasses and the skirt certainly have a interny, bookwormish look to em..."_

_In other words yes. _She clenched her fist as she politely asked, "Yes sir?"

"You're one of the techies right?" his eyes had stopped to stare at her legs.

_Oh no he isn't... _Cassie grit her teeth. _Crescent..._

_"Got it." _"Sure am sir. How may I be of assistance to you?" Crescent said pleasantly as she mentally shouldered Cassie aside to lie to him.

"How would you like your way to a solid job?" his hand met her shoulder.

_Get him off of us._

"I'm sorry sir but I'm not into that kind of thing." If her tone was any colder the sleezewad would be coated in frost several feet thick... As it was Jazz shivered at the tone that Crescent had replied in.

The man blinked and removed his hand holding it in the air as he nervously chuckled. "Oh no, no nothing like that... I need you to take this and upload this in to the mainframe. Tell no one especially those damned _machines_ about this little bug of mine and I'll do what I can for you Miss..."

"Artemis. Artemis Cooper." Crescent said curtly as she closed her hand around the flash drive he had held up. "I'll see what I can do for you Mr...?"

"Galloway."

"Nice talking with you Mr. Galloway. I've got to go finish gathering coffee for the others now so I've gotta get back on it. Have a good day Sir." she said as she shook his hand and made her way away from as fast as she could, releasing her grip on Cassie who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ugh... I feel like I need to drown myself in the showers from where he touched me... Sam is _definitely_ paying for this..."

_"Wha' are ya gonna do with tha'?"_

_Give it to Optimus or Ratchet of course. Like hell I'd let a snake like that spy on the bots.. _Cassie thought as she kept rubbing her arm. "I think I'm going to go get some disinfectant from the med bay for my arm." Cassie grumbled as Crescent relayed her reply for Jazz.

~x~

"Unless you're bleeding out get the frag out of my med bay!"

_Wow someone's in a bad mood today. _"Um... Hello? Ratchet?" Cassie called out as she tiptoed into the med bay.

"I'm my office Cassandra." Ratchet's distracted voice came from the back of the med bay. Cassie made her way over and through the open doorway to stare at the giant desk in the room.

"Damn that's a big desk." Cassie whistled as she walked over to stand by his pede. He leaned down to offer his servo.

"Is there a reason you're here?" Ratchet asked as soon as she was near to eye level.

"Ever hear of a slimeball called Galloway?"

The bot vented a sigh. "Unfortunately, Theodore Galloway is the human's liaison. I take it you came into contact with him?"

"Regrettably. However the perv was more distracted by my new wardrobe to notice that I didn't actually have a badge on me so he automatically assumed that I was one of the... 'Techies'?" Cassie frowned at the term before holding up the flashdrive.. "Anyways he wanted me to plant a program from this into the bases mainframe. I figured I'd give it to you."

"... Thank you." Ratchet said almost pleasantly as he formed his holoform on the desk in front of her to pluck the flashdrive from her. "I believe we are definitely in some good fortune that he was... distracted. Galloway isn't the most _savory_ character on base. He is very driven to getting his servos on our weapons technology, and believes all of us to be mere _drones_."

"In other words, he's a complete and utter asshole. Should I keep my eyes open just in case he decides to try again?"

Ratchet hmmed as he glanced from the file and back to her. "Tell me you did not tell him your name."

"No. Crescent provided hers."

"Speaking of which, is she here at the current moment in time?"

Cassie grinned.

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

_"We could haunt him."_

Jazz gave her an incredulous look. _"Would tha' even work?"_

Crescent shrugged. _"Maybe... In the very least we could pull some white noise shit on him..."_

_"Ah wouldn't put it past 'im to blame it on da bots if we did..."_

Crescent deflated. _"I trust that bastard as far as _Sam _can throw him. He's a snake. One that needs to be introduced to the spade."_

A sharp and painful tingling sensation ran over the both of them making them both curse and cringe.

_"Wha' da frag was tha'?"_

_"Ow..."_

"By the Allspark." A stunned Ratchet exclaimed as he stared at the space they occupied even though he was incapable of seeing them.

"Ratchet?"

"..." He blinked before glancing down at Cassie.

"Is everything okay?"

"You're not going to believe this." He said activating a hologram to display the readings and images from the scans.

"Holy-"

_"-Shit..."_ Crescent finished as she stared at the image of her and Jazz... Well mainly Jazz's image..

_"Tha's us!" _Jazz sputtered.

"You actually caught them on image..." Cassie blinked at the larger form displayed next to her tiny sister. "So that's what Jazz looks like..." she stared at the visored mech.

~x~

The bots (As well as Sam, Will, and Epps) were staring in shock at the image. In fact Sam was so busy gaping at the image that he failed to notice that Cassie had slid under the table to tie his shoelaces together.

She slid back into her seat before clapping her hands together, startling quite a few individuals in the process. "Okay yay; Ratchet has accomplished something that most ghost hunters would give their two eye teeth to be able to do." But was there a reason for the impromptu huddle or can a gal go and hunt down a decent set of clothes and a nice long shower?"

"Ratchet informed us of your encounter with The Gallows." Lennox said as he crossed his arms... He was currently in the process of trying to ignore the weird feeling he _had _to be having courtesy of Crescent poking him in the shoulder.

"Interesting nickname. But I prefer Snake. Or better yet Vermin. Parasite might work too. I could seriously sue the that asshole for sexual harassment if I _actually _worked here."

"Well I was considering that, how would you like to '_play_' along as his 'spy'? You know put him off the course so that we don't have to keep having to weeding out his little moles."

"Jarhead says what now?"

"Jarheads are the Marines." Will said sourly.

"Oh I'm sorry _Grunt_." Cassie smirked as he sighed.

"Cassandra, what William is saying that Galloway has been nothing but problematic in our human relations and interactions. This is not the first time that he has tried something like this, and while we are currently trying to appeal to your Joint Chiefs of Staffs for a new liaison, but until then we are situated with a less than exemplary specimen of mankind." Optimus said as she blinked up at the regal bot as his words sunk in.

_"That was him putting it nicely." _Jazz said from his position on the bossbot's shoulder.

"... So you guys want me to lie about working here? Won't he notice that I'm not here five days out of the week? Or if I don't show up on the weekend?"

"We are in the process of moving to a new base, your absence could easily be mistaken as being transferred back and forth between the two bases..." Will said matter of factly.

"And if for some reason he decides to do a background check?"

"Easily covered."

Cassie stared back and forth between the two leaders before sighing, "Tell me that I at least get compensated for having to deal with him ogling me."

~x~

Cassie sighed as she finally slipped into the shower that was in the bathroom adjacent to her room. Turning it on to scalding she sighed as it hit her back...

~x~

~Sam~

~x~

Sam grinned as he slinked away from Cassie's room as soon as the shower had turned on, the remainder of her clothing in his arms... Despite his bruised jaw, he grinned like a mad man and made a mad dash for the last hundred yards when the unholy screech erupted from his cousin's room. "SAM!"

Sam fumbled with the lock before finally running into his room... and tripping over the fine wire stretched across his door way. Something wet fell on his head before there was a snap and glitter exploded from a box sitting in the floor of the room coating everything... especially him. "CASSIE!"

~x~

~Lennox~

~x~

He had just finished creating Cassie's alias with Maggie and Glen when a pair of teens, one coated in sparkly purple glitter, the other was freaking _red_ and wearing a bed sheet toga and spitting vibrant curses darted past him. He blinked for a second at the quickly disappearing twosome before jogging after them in their wake. When he finally caught up with them, Cassie had a battered Sam facedown underneath her, his arm bent back and painfully pinned under her legs and her arm around his neck.

"You bastard! DIE!"

"If I die I'm coming back to haunt you!"

"That is enough!" Major Lennox reached out to separate the two. He immediately regretted it when the sheet clad girl, reacted violently to his touch. In less time than it took to blink he'd blocked four punches, but failed against two others. Stars filled his vision from the possibly broken nose, and major shiner that he would soon be sporting. "STAND DOWN NOW!" He bellowed in pain as he shook his head to clear his vision.

Once he was able to see again, he noticed that it was taking Epps and three other Special Forces soldiers to restrain Cassie. Poor Sam looked like he'd just gone through a meat grinder for an hour or two.

"I _swear_ it Sam! If you don't give me back my clothes, I'll make you wish you were dead! I won't kill you... but you WILL wish that I had!" Cassie hissed in rage as she continued to struggle against the four men holding her.

"What is going on here?" Will looked up as Optimus Prime arrived at the scene.

"Sam hid my contact lenses, stole all my pants, the rest of my clothes, put fucking dye in my shower and then he smeared superglue all over my towels! I had to use a pillowcase to dry myself off with!" Cassie yelled as she got even madder just thinking about it. "It's _over_ Sam! Give my stuff back now, or I'll make what I did to that stupid jock look like I made _hugged _him!"

"LIAR! I haven't done _anything_ with any super glue! That was _your_ thing... not _mine_!" Sam growled through split and bloody lips. "Besides, that damned tripwire or yours nearly killed me!"

"What tripwire?" Cassie shot back. "I didn't set any tripwire."

The arguing immediately resumed with each calling the other a liar, and Cassie actively fighting against her captors. Just as she was about to break free, the sheet that she had wrapped around her body started to slide down. Apparently, she realized this an instant too late as her chest was exposed. Several hands slackened on her... If she wasn't already dyed red she would have been red. She wrenched one arm free and decked one of the soldiers (who unfortunately had a very ill placed hand) in the face, knocking him out cold, before grabbing desperately at the sheet to cover her body.

"Sam… if you don't give me back my clothes, I _swear_ I'm going to put you in the hospital for _months_!" Cassie hissed as she trembled in renewed rage.

Being well versed in strategy helped when it came to situations like this, so Will reached out and grabbed the top of the sheet, right between Cassie's shoulders. "Don't try to go after him again, or the sheet will come off and you'll be seen wearing whatever you have on under it." Will warned her firmly.

Cassie glared defiantly at him. "I don't _have_ anything under it! He _stole_ everything! So unless you _want _a free show I wouldn't."

Sam only had to take one look at his cousin to know that he had pushed her _way_ too far, but still. "Not until you apologize for the tripwire, glitter bomb _and_ give me the pictures that you took of the result!"

"I'll admit that I tied your shoelaces together, but I had nothing to do with a glitter bomb, or tripwire; and I _sure_ haven't taken any pictures! Although I _should_ have done that when I prettied you up in makeup and painted your nails!" Cassie retorted hotly.

"Strange. Cassandra is being truthful, which means that someone has been provoking the two of you into escalating this." Optimus said mused..

* * *

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**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas (I don't know how I missed your name but it's here now!) for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	18. Chapter 17: Ire and Scorn

**Hey look! I'm alive! Sorry it took me so long to update... I blame my muse and my general klutziness. I almost broke my right index finger putting in a new garden bed at my house, and well it was annoying to attempt to type with the splint on while trying to stay awake from the meds when I wasn't irritating it at work. Oh joy... Needless to say I've almost got the plants planted whoo!**

**YAY I've made it to a hundred reviews!**

**Many thanks to my awesome beta Khalthar! This chapters prank is thanks to him!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers**

**Word count is in around ~ 2129**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Ire and Scorn**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie was blatantly ignoring the smirking form of Sideswipe's holoform as she scrubbed down the mats in the training room. The red head was currently leaning against the wall watching her with a cool gaze in his blue eyes.

After having separating her and Sam they had each spent the better part of the night in the brig. She had the pleasure of being annoyed by both Sam's glares and Crescent's ever annoying singing until she finally keeled over from exhaustion. Sometime in the middle of the night someone had thought to haul Sam off to the med bay to deglitterize and patch him up.

She on the other hand was _still _red and after she had woken up, she had been escorted by Epps to the training room and set to scrub down the mats. Garbed currently in only a black tank top and a pair of shorts, the currently red skinned girl was focused solely on the task set before her.

As for who may have scored the coup de gras, she was fairly positive that the corvette was the main culprit... just as she was equally sure that the boss bot knew it was him as well... but seeing as there was no incriminating evidence to point to him, he had gotten off Scott free.

Cassie grimaced as she tossed aside the now filthy rag before stomping over and snatching a clean one out of the pail. _I wonder when the hell was the last time they actually thought to sanitize these damned things?_

_"Who knows." _Crescent grumbled as she attempted to ebb off some of Cassie's sour mood.

Cassie glared at her red hands. Even with the solvent she was using the damned dye was stubbornly refused to wear off her skin. _What the freaking hell did he use? Henna ink?!_

_"... You know that could be possible... Isn't that stuff permanent?"_

"Damn near, damn it! I always wanted a tat but not a full body one! Hell all I have to do is smear charcoal on my face and get some fake horns and I could pass as a female Darth Maul!" she threw the new towel at the specter.

Crescent chortled at her twin's rant.

"Oh shut up." Cassie growled before going back to scrubbing.

"Having fun over there?" Sideswipe called from his position on the wall.

"You shut up too."

Sideswipe held a hand over his chest as if he was wounded. "But I only came to keep you company..."

"You do realize I'm currently planning on putting you on cinder blocks and hi-jacking your tires while you sleep." Cassie said as she tossed aside the now filthy cloth.

"I doubt you could even do it."

Cassie placed her hands on her hips. "You do remember that my dad was a mechanic right? I did learn a thing or two from him... And changing tires, both with a hydraulic wrench, and with a normal wheel jack was one of the few things he taught me. So don't test me."

"Oooh I've got chills in my energon lines from that threat." Sideswipe waved his hands as he walked towards her.

"I'll shove a potato up your tailpipe." she growled.

He smirked as he stopped in front of her. "I'd like to see you try."

She glared up at him as he towered over her before breaking into a grin, giggling. "God you're such an idiot. Even if I get you back for this, you won't see it coming."

"Yeah right I'm the king of pranks. You'll never be able to pull a fast one on me." Sideswipe smirked.

"If you say so."

Epps chose that minute to walk in. "Yo Cassie the place is looking good. Ratchet says he's got the solvent for your dye job."

"Thank God! I am so over the Red Skull look. See ya later Sides."

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

The femme was nuts. Thinking that she could threaten him. He shook his holoform's head as he dismissed it, returning his consciousness to his real body. Ah well... he loved a good challenge, even if she did have her twin and his mentor with her, she would not beat him.

**:Optimus to Sideswipe. Report to my office at once:**

Sideswipe sighed... He could feel a lecture coming to him very soon.

~x~

He should have known that Optimus wouldn't be happy, not with the fact that the two fleshies had injured not only each other but several of the soldiers in their brawl... He knew that it was hard to pull the wool over his commanders optics, after all how many did Optimus know that could orchestrate such well planned and ornate pranks without leaving a trace of their involvement?

The only condemning evidence of any kind that Prime had on him was the fact that he had caught Sam coughing up the cash he owed him from losing their bet.

But the sentence for his 'supposed' *coughcough* actual *coughcough* involvement made him stare in shock at Optimus.

"You can't fragging be serious!" Sideswipe gaped at his leader. Optimus had his battle mask in place but he could tell that Prime was smiling behind the damned thing. "A _YEAR?! _I can't prank for a _YEAR?!"_

"I could make it an entire vorn."

Sideswipe's denta clanged tightly together at the stern warning in Prime voice. He bowed his head and muttered his acceptance of his punishment, before briskly turning and walking out of the room.

He growled as he rolled out to meet both Ratchet's and Ironhide's smirking mugs. Servos clenching tightly. He stormed his way through the base making his way past Cassie who was currently talking with Will, but spared time to smile a brief but sly smile at him.

The sensation that he associated with Jazz and Crescent hit him in his shoulders... It had to be Jazz. "Really?" he growled. "You have got to be kidding me." he turned to glare in the direction the brunette had wandered off in.

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

He had spent most of the day (and all of the previous night) avoiding Cassie and Crescent. Now... was it because he had gotten a full view of Cassie in all her glory? Or was it because he was pissed at Sam for stealing the girl's entire wardrobe? No... It was all Sideswipe's doing... Who else could instigate a prank war between the two teenagers better than the Prankster King himself? And the fact that she had been dyed _red.. _It was Sideswipe's original color, he may have as well signed his fragging name on her...

So here he was clinging to the mech, listening to him grumble as he made his way to the energon dispenser in the rec room. _"Ah know ya ain't really tha' mad at Cassie more than the fact that you got caught." _He murmured even if the bot couldn't hear him...

"Leave me alone Jazz." Sideswipe grumbled.

Jazz tightened his hold on the frontliner. _"Nah... Ah thin' Ah'm good righ' here." _He grinned as he snuggled into Sideswipe, knowing that it would only piss him off even more.

"Get. Off. Of. Me." Sideswipe's plates bristled as he hissed… Jazz's reply was to poke him in the back of his helm. "GAH! LET GO OF ME JAZZ!"

Jazz grinned as Sideswipe's irritation was tangible enough for everyone to give him a wide berth, avoiding the ranting bot and his shadily dark corner of the rec room. He shot some glares at the humans that dared to look at him before they quickly exited the room. Jazz chuckled at Sideswipe's sigh of defeat. "I take it you're annoyed with me." he muttered in Cybertronian.

Jazz responded with an extra long jab to Sides back.

"Can you blame me? I had to make sure how far I could push her. After all, she is going to be my charge she'll have to know how to take a prank or two, plus I had to see her skills. I was just... testing her metal." Sideswipe said before pulling out a cube of high grade from his subspace. "It was sheer chance that Sam would manage to take her clothing... She did give a nice view though..."

If Jazz could have physically hit Sideswipe he would have at that moment.

~x~

~Later that evening Crescent~

~x~

Cassie was currently glaring at the paperwork that Will had obtained for her to go over in order to be able to pull the wool over Galloway's eyes... it was mainly composed of base rules.

_"I'm bored."_

"Why hello bored nice to meet you." Cassie said dryly, not even looking over at her twin who was currently poking her arm.

_"Cassie... I'm sure you've read that thing twice by now."_

"Yep... I thought I noticed some incongruities and rather loose loop holes the first time. I was just taking note of them." Cassie mumbled as she rested her head on her forearms.

The spirit groaned as she flopped back onto the floor only to yelp as Crescent found herself staring up at Jazz. _"Don't do that..."_

_"Do wha'?"_

"_Sneak up on me." _she said sticking her tongue out at him.

_"Ah can' help it... How would ya like ta help meh with somethin'?"_

Crescent raised a brow. _"Help you with what?"_

Jazz's aura was positively devious. _"Is Cassie still awake?"_

_"Barely."_

_"Good. Ah was wonderin' if ya felt up ta pulllin' a prank..."_

~x~

~The next morning~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe onlined to a mild hangover and the feeling of one of the spirits leaning against him. He grumbled as he sat up on his berth and almost immediately face planted into the floor as his balance was thrown off by a miserable rolling in his tanks accompanied by a loud rattling noise... He groaned into the floor as he attempted to pick himself up, trying to fight the urge to purge his tanks...

Sideswipe leaned against the edge of the berth in misery as he cursed at the poke he received in his forehelm. It had to be Jazz... This had Jazz written all over it... Especially since he had only felt this miserable once before...

_~x~_

_~Flashback~_

_~x~_

_Sunny had smirked when Prowl entered the Recreation Room, the Praxian was painted pink with the words 'I need a good frag' painted in lime green on his door wings. His optics landing on the twins Sideswipe glanced at his brother as they tensed ready to bolt from the irritated enforcer._

_"'ey Prowler... Why is mah name painted on da back o' ya doorwings?" Jazz's voice asked in a mixture of curiosity and shock from his position at the energon dispenser. Prowl tensed as his wings went rigid and klicks later his processor glitched._

_Several bots, including Sunny and himself burst out laughing. Jazz blinked down at the fallen Prowl. Sideswipe smirked as he called out, "We figured that you could use a little encouragement Jazz." Several other bots gathered cheered in response._

_Jazz's visored helm snapped up to glare at him and Sunny... the grim look on the usually lax bot was not a comforting thing... But then again neither had been the wrenches that Ratchet had tossed at them when he had answer the comm link that summoned him to the rec room._

_He and Sunny figured they were in the clear after they had finished their time in the brig... but nothing prepared them for the next orn after they woke up in their berths. It had started when he had onlined for his morning monitor duty shift... He had sat up on the berth that he and his twin shared only to fall back onto his twin who woke instantly to screech about his paint job and slung him off the berth... only to fall onto Sideswipe as he too found himself suffering from a sudden imbalance..._

_It wouldn't have been too bad if Sunny hadn't soon purged on him..._

_They eventually found themselves in the med bay having their tanks pumped for the itty bitty ball bearings that had mysteriously ended up in them... _

~x~

Sideswipe wiped his mouth as he finished purging into a bin... pressing a hand to his abdominal plates in a mild attempt to calm his tanks and the movement of the damable little balls irritating them. "I... would love to know how the Pit you did this Jazz..." he groaned before opening a comm link to the Hatchet.

* * *

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**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas,9 tailed vixen, AyanoZonurai, Crystal Blue Butterfly, GothicEmoGirl95, MiserysNightmare, Nova-girl703, ShizukaRen-Hime, alannasanderson101,girlsugarskull48654, meeep15 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	19. Chapter 18: Idle Chatter

**v.v I've no excuse... So I apologize for the lateness of this chapter... And I hope it's up to par with the other ones...**

**I finally made it to both a hundred reviews and I finally paid attention to the hits and noticed its sitting at 14,274 Holy cannoli! Thanks everyone! The Rest of the thank yous are at the bottom of the page since the list is VERY long. **

**However I must thank my awesome beta Khalthar for helping me when my muse is being decisively difficult. You are the best!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers... Unless you count my action figures... I found a Combiner Wars Blades! EEE!**

**Word Count: ~2444**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Idle Chatter **

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

~Tuesday afternoon~

Sideswipe vented as he pulled into the parking lot of the school. It was only the fifth time in the last four hours that he had gone on patrol, boredom creeping in his circuits more and more by the klick. He needed a good race to get all the pent up energy and irritation from being confined in the med bay for two cycles with nothing but Ratchet's jibes and wrench to keep him occupied... Oooh he was so going to get the medic back...

He just had to make sure he had an air tight alibi for when his revenge would be unleashed... His mood darkened as his processor reminded him of his Primus damned punishment.

**:Getting stir crazy?:** Bumblebee asked as the corvette slinked into a spot before stilling his engine.

**:How the pit can you stand doing this every day?: **Sideswipe groaned. **:I wish Barricade would reveal his fragging aft already...:**

**:If you're that bored you could just join us in here.:**

**:And go through having the human mechs stare at my aft all day like you do? No thanks.:**

Bee snickered. **:It isn't all that bad. The girls stare too...:**

**:Not from Cassie was telling me.:**

**:...:**

**:So it's true?:**

**:...:**

**:Bee?:**

**:...:**

**:Hey I can't help it that they like your cute little-:**

**:Not another word Sides. Not another word.:**

Sideswipe just laughed at Bee's mortification. He onlined his holoform as he noticed the slow trickle of students trailing out of the buildings. Bee shot him a dirty glare as his way over to lean against his alt, Sideswipe noted the stares the Camaro was receiving.

Sideswipe was too busy smirking at the sulking Bee as to notice Cassie until her knuckles rapped sharply on his window.

"You gonna let me in or not?"

"You actually want to take a ride with me?" Sideswipe asked as he popped open his door.

"Sam and Kae are going on a date. I'd rather not intrude on that... I'll just humiliate Sam later tonight."

"So where to?"

"Home. I need to meditate." she said as she sunk into his seat. He shut the door before she could enciting a low hiss from the girl.

He blinked over at her, eyeing her with his holoform's optics only, Her body was almost ramrod stif in his seat, her eyes closed as she breathed slowly as if she was trying not to do so deeply... "Cassie?"

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Never better. Now drive." she bit out a little on the harsh side. Sideswipe stared at her for several minutes, more than half tempted to run a scan over his charge. He could tell she was lying. but if she didn't want to tell him then why should he push his luck...

~x~

~x~

~Wednesday~

Sideswipe online as the first rays of light crept over his altmode, warming the metal. _Three more days..._ He mentally checked off the time till they could return to the base. He _hated _being limited to his holoform... He hated having his senses dulled, hated having to try to pretend that he was human with the elder Witwicky's.

He shuddered at the thought of Sam's femme creator. She was giving him pointed glares every time she caught his holoform in the same vicinity as Cassie. Cassie's door had to remain open when he was sitting with the girl listening to music... and Judy really glared at him as he provided Cassie a physical opponent for her metalikato practice. She had also made it a point to practice swinging that damnable bat of hers in the yard whenever his holoform was deactivated... In clear view of his altmode.. It had been barely a week and he was on the top of her dislike list...

Judy was a force to be reckoned with in that household. And he knew that she was one that should be mistake for anything other than she was. A carrier, a mother. If he didn't know any better... he'd swear that _she_ knew the truth about them...

Cassie stepped out into the crisp autumn air and his train of thoughts stopped as his sensors picked up on her condition. Cassie was riddled with circular bruises on the visible parts of her arms and legs. She move stiffly as she began her warm ups. He onlined his holoform as she began to get into full swing of her forms.

"Nice bruises."

"Good morning to you too, Sideswipe."

"What are they from?"

"Volleyball."

"Interesting... I didn't realize it was such a violent sport."

"Any sport can be violent if enough force is used."

"... And that hand print?"

"..." Cassie just ignored his second question as she moved into a move difficult set of moves. Sideswipe frowned at her.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

~Thursday~

_"Excuse me. _But may I talk with you for a second?" Cassie hissed in barely contained rage as she dug her nails into the flesh of Sideswipe's holoform as she dragged him out of the office. "What the hell are you thinking?!" she growled lowly as soon as she had him out of ear shot of the principal and secretary. "A _probation officer_?" she hissed.

Sideswipe smiled innocently down at her as he noted the irritated look in her gaze. "I do get bored sitting out in the parking lot doing nothing in between patrols so I figured I'd hang with you."

"As my _probation officer?!" _Cassie reiterated. "God lord if my father heard those words and my name mentioned in the same sentence he'd..." Cassie shuddered. "No.. he probably _is_ spinning in his grave. Why couldn't you have just altered the age of your holoform?"

"Because I didn't want to be put through the same homework nightmare that Bee goes through."

"...You guys got computers for freaking brains! It's not like you'd actually have to put any effort into it like the rest of us-" Cassie was cut off by the sudden emergence of the Principal who glanced between the two of them before glaring down at her.

"Miss Cooper I do believe you are going to be late for your fifth period. As for you Scott, I have talked with your boss and your credentials have checked out you may accompany your little trouble maker if you wish. Here is your pass." Principal Ivings said with a nod before retreating into the office.

Sideswipe smirked as Cassie gaped at the man's swift retreat before turning and glaring at him. "Don't think that this conversation is over." she said as she spun on her heels and stalked down the hall.

"Oh come on what did you expect me to do? Thanks to you going postal on Sam I can't really get caught pranking anyone on the base, and there is only so many times I can go on patrol before I start going out of my processor with boredom..." Sides whined as he followed her up the stairs.

"You could have taken up playing video games or watching porn for all I care. You do realize that school is the epitome of boredom?"

"Yeah well this way I get to experience it first hand without being expected to really be a participant." Sides said as he stopped at the desk where the teacher raise a brow. He smiled a charming smile at the woman who raised a no nonsense brow at him. "Hello. My name is Scott..."

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

_I wonder if he'll bleed if I stab his holoform with my pen... _Cassie tried her hardest not to glare at him as he leaned over the kitchen counter as she worked on her homework.

_"While I would call it a scientific endeavor if he decides to ask why you stabbed him, I don't want to think about how he'll retaliate." _Crescent pointed out.

Jazz raised a brow. _"Aw ease up on him he's only bein' a pest afta he got punished for prankin' ya this past weekend."_

"If I stabbed you what color would you bleed?" Cassie asked as she looked up into his blue gaze.

"... Look I know you're mad at me but it also let's me know why you've been coming out of the school with more bruises than you had _before _you went to school." He said glancing down at a particularly dark green and purple one that graced her arm.

Cassie pulled her sleeve down to cover the bruise. She did not want to get into this topic. She had spent the better part of the last four days being berated about the minor scuffles that she'd been finding herself in since Monday. The group of Jocks hadn't taken lightly to their new punishment (courtesy of her aunt pitching a good old fit), and they had began to 'accidentally' roughing her up. Slamming her into lockers and walls in the somewhat crowded halls; she had walked into several doors as they were slammed in her face; and let's not comment on the volleyball incident in P.E.

The whole thing had both Crescent and Jazz growling and Crescent had more than once tried to take over and repay them on more than one occasion, leaving her tired and antsy on top of being sore and aching. She had taken to wearing a special salt crystal necklace to keep her twin out... much to Crescent's ire.

"No. No we weren't talking about me. We were talking about you." Cassie said as she tapped her pen on the paper hard.

Sideswipe frowned at the textbook. "That isn't the chapter that you were assigned today."

"I already turned that in." Cassie muttered. "I'm just keeping ahead of the game."

"Isn't that kind of redundant? From what I can figure you won't finish the entire text book within this semester."

Cassie sighed in irritation. "Tell me, you are in the top of your game right? You've honed your fighting skills over thousands of years to be the best that you can possibly be. So are you just going to forget about practicing every chance you get?"

"When I offline maybe."

"Then why would I pass up the only chance I'll get to further my education? After all after high school there's only college _if_ I achieve and maintain high enough grades. Sure I have my father's pension that I can use for some of the tuition, but I'd rather save that for other things like getting an apartment, maybe a good car, a golden statue for Crescent..."

_"Really?!"_

"No. I was just checking to see how in tune with reality you were." Cassie smirked.

Jazz burst out laughing as Crescent let out an indignant, _"Hey!"_

Sideswipe chuckled and he shook his head. "I take it she didn't like that."

"Nope."

The door opened and Judy and Ron marched in to the kitchen, the later laden down with grocery sacks. "Hi kids." Judy said smiling cheerfully at Cassie while her eyes glared at Sideswipe. "Ronnie's cooking out tonight. I hope you're up for veggie burgers."

Cassie grinned. "Sweet!"

"Oh shoot... I forgot the soda for my cake..." Judy cursed as she frowned into the bags. "Say Cassie you wanna tag along with me to go get some 7up?"

"Um... Sure."

"Here take my car." Sideswipe held out his keys.

Judy's eyes narrowed on him before she shook her head. "Oh nonsense. We're only walking down to the party shop. It's like a block away." Judy waved her hand dismissively.

"Honestly it's no problem Mrs. Witwicky-"

"Thanks but a little fresh air is good and me and Cassie could use a nice powerwalk. You can stay here and help Ron with the grill. Come on Cassie."

"Yes ma'am." Cassie replied as she grabbed her sweater. Judy was definitely in some sort of warpath mode, as she stomped away from the house at a rapid pace. Cassie actually had to jog to catch up with her.

When she had caught up with her aunt she finally noticed that Judy had grabbed Excalibur. "Do you make it a habit of taking your bat with you to the store?"

"Bats hurt more than pepper spray and they're not illegal like mace." Judy grinned. "Now... that I've got you out and away from the house you want to tell me what's up between you and that Scott kid?"

Cassie blinked at Judy. "W-what? What do you mean what's going on with me and Scott?! He's my bodyguard!"

Judy smirked. "And he doesn't look at you like he does for no reason..."

"What are you-no, no I'm not even having this conversation with you."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed the envious and adoring gazes he's been shooting you... And especially the worried one he's been wearing here lately... Please tell me that you are not knocked up."

"AUNT JUDY!" Cassie gaped in admonition at her aunt as she turned a deep shade of crimson. She wanted nothing more than to strangle Crescent and Jazz who were laughing loudly earning a deeper blush from Cassie... She was so glad that there was no one else around.

"I'll take that as a no... So out of my parental concern please tell me that you have been using protect-" Cassie's hand slapped over her aunt's mouth successfully cutting her off

"Aunt Judy I'm not his type by longshot!" Cassie hissed as she let Judy go.

Judy blinked. "Oh... I didn't realize he was gay..."

The noise from the peanut gallery grew as Cassie fought the urge to face palm. _Yep we'll go with that... Though he'll probably squish me if and when he finds out about this. _"I think he's a closet case, Aunt Judy.. so please don't say anything..." Jazz's laughter grew even more...

"So then the worried looks he's been giving you..."

"He understands what I've been going through with being a twin and an orphan." Cassie supplied as they reached the store. Judy waited for the girl to run in for a 20 oz, Cassie hurried through the little shop, half dreading what her Uncle Ron could be saying to Sideswipe...

_"With any luck Ron will just ask him if he was doing the horizontal tango with you or not..."_

_God I hope not... _

_"Trust meh, Sider's can easily take whateva ya uncle dishes out 'n stride... however, he might make sure ta tease the pit outta ya for it..."_

_Just shoot me now... Cassie thought as s_he darted out of the shop with a ring of the little bell. Judy smiled as she slung her arm around her niece's shoulders. "Look about what I said earlier.. you know I have to worry..."

"Aunt Judy... Please never mention it ever again."

"Only if you promise me that you never have kids until you're out of college."

"Deal." Cassie said with a slight shudder.

As they rounded the corner a person bumped into Cassie knocking the bottle of soda out of her hands. She scrambled to pick up the soda.

"Oh I'm sorry I was busy looking for a kid.." The man said brushing his hair out of his burgundy eyes.. Just before there was a zapping noise, a jolt of pain and then everything went dark.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 19: Knowlege Bombs

**I'm back! And it didn't take a month this time! (Granted it was the better part of a couple weeks.) I must apologize that his chapter is a little on the light side... coming in at barely at 1770 words...**

**I must thank my awesome beta Khalthar for helping me when my muse is being decisively difficult. You are the best!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers... Unless you count my action figures... *uses my Starscream for origami therapy* Enjoy the chapter**

**Word Count: ~1770 words.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Knowledge Bombs**

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

"Excuse me?" Sideswipe blinked at Ron.

"You heard me. I asked you what you thought of Cassandra."

"Um... She's a sweet girl. Smart easy to get along with... except when she outright lies to me... That's probably the only time I have any problems with her." Sideswipe shrugged as he watched Ron mess with the grill. He sighed before taking a sip of the energon that he had swiped from Bee.

"You're not boinking her right?"

The energon caught in the holoforms throat as he choked, he had to pinch his nose to keep the substance from coming out. "Excuse _me_?" Sideswipe sputtered as Ron smirked.

"Consider yourself lucky. If you had Judy would probably take it out on your pretty car."

Sideswipe winced. "Say uh... Mr. Witwicky shouldn't the ladies be back by now? The 7-11 is only a five minute walk from here... Perhaps I should go check on them."

"I wouldn't. Judy took her bat with her so I think she wants to have some girl time with Cassie."

_Damn that pit spawned bat. _Sideswipe thought irately.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie woke with a pounding headache as she came to. Letting out a weak groan she shifted against the warm seat she was bound against. "What the-" she blinked down at the mix of seatbelts and ropes holding her. She frowned as she turned her head to see her aunt out cold next to her, and that they were in a police cruiser? She blinked at the cage fencing separating them from the front of the compartment.

"You have got to be kidding me." Cassie muttered as she squirmed. "Who knew he'd be so into bondage." The straps tightened around her painfully as an indignant huff emitted from the radio.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself fleshy."

Cassie raised a brow. "Or what?"

_"Cassie Ah wouldn't piss him off." _Jazz muttered from his position on the other side of Judy. She frowned before glancing around. "_Crescent's not here. She went to get help."_

A chocolate brow rose questioningly. Jazz sighed before answering, _"She's a little better at white noise than me... Plus she said something about being able to find her way back because of her tether."_

Cassie frowned. Crescent usually made sure not to try the strength of her 'tether' as they had dubbed their fragile connection... It was the remnants of their fractured bond and the only thing really keeping Crescent around... Her unfinished business being Cassie herself... something that saddened Cassie yet eased her at the same time... Crescent, being tethered to her dulled the hollow ache that threatened to drive Cassie insane with each passing day.

"Where are we?" Cassie sighed as she blinked at the trees as they passed by.

"Like I would tell you."

_"In the woods. Not too far from where ya had da bonfire da other day." _

"... Quite the chatterbox aren't you?" Cassie smirked.

Judy groaned as she came to, her eyes unfocused as she blinked. "Ronnie... How many times have I told you to not to tie me up?" She growled as she weakly fought the restraints.

_"T.M.I." _Jazz shuddered.

"Aunt Judy, I'm afraid that this isn't Uncle Ron's doing." Cassie said dryly.

"Cassie?" Judy blinked as her eyes focused on her niece... before noticing the ropes and belts. "What the hell?!" She growled and began to struggle.

"It's pointless fleshy I'm not letting you go that easily." Barricade grumbled.

"... Why did you kidnap us?"

The red eyed holoform in the driver's seat turned to glare back at her. Cassie eyed her aunt who blinked at the holoform. "I don't owe you an explanation."

Cassie glared at him for a few more seconds before he blinked out of existence. Judy let out a long low growl along with several crude words to end it. "No good son of a broken cymbal monkey. I swear when I get loose and I _will_ sodomize you with my bat..."

A dark chuckle echoed out of the radio as the elder woman's curses.

Cassie blinked at Judy. "Interesting choice of words..."

_"Wait a minute..."_

"I knew that this would freaking happen! See this is what I get for playing stupid. Damn Sam and Bee argh!"

"Wait you _knew-"_

Judy fumed. "Of course I knew! It's kind of hard not to notice an eighteen foot alien robot in my freaking back yard at three in the damned morning. I've caught him stretching on more than one occasion."

Jazz chuckled as Cass stared flabbergasted at her aunt "Then was there any point in all of the sneaking around?"

"Well... Ronnie doesn't know. But I was afraid to tell him for fear he'd freak out even more than he has already." Judy shrugged.

"Argh will the two of you shut up already?" Barricade grumbled.

"Why don't you make us?" Cassie snarked before she really could stop herself.

_"Cassie-"_

"Fragging humans." Barricade muttered before a gas began to fill his cabin.

"Jerk." Cassie coughed as the damned chemical began to take effect.

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

Now... Not much really took the energy out of her, but the current distance from Cassie was taking its toll and fast. The farthest she'd been from Cassie at this point had been the two miles to the school, and that had been an irritating drain on her... but this... Crescent was _tired_ when she finally made it back to the Witwicky household.

Sideswipe was pacing anxiously next to his altmode, grinding his teeth. "They should have been back by now..."

Crescent slammed into his driver's side door causing the holoform to hiss and shiver.

"Gah Jazz... That felt weird..." He shivered as she ghosted her way into his cabin and began to fiddle with his speakers. "H-hey!"

_"NOT JAZZ." _His speakers hissed with her weak voice.

Sideswipe froze as he stared at his speakers... "Now that is creepy... How in the Pit-"

_"NO TIME. ROBOCOP HAS CASSIE AND-" _His speakers chose this second to fritz out as the white noise took their toll on them. Crescent cursed vehemently.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie came to once more in Barricade's grip but this time he was in his Bipedal mode tromping through the dense forest. It was full dark out, and the only light was coming from his red optics and the stars above... Great this was looking even more like a bad slasher film in the making... Just what the hell did he want with the two of them?

There was a high pitched chirping noise as Barricade finally came to a stop before leaning down to place Cassie against a tree.

"Tell me something Robocop." Cassie said as he gently lay the tightly bound Judy on the ground. "Is there a particular reason you kidnapped us, or are you just wanting to piss off the bots?"

"Quiet." Barricade growled before he let off a sharp pitched whistle. Something brushed against her ankle, causing her to squeak. She peered downward into the shadows as she watched Barricade kneel, laying his palm open onto the ground.

_"Impossible..." _Jazz gaped as he moved closer to peer at the little metal creature in Barricade's servo.

"What is that?"

Barricade growled lowly as he brought his servo closer to his chassis and out of her view. His armor almost appeared to puff out a bit as he glared at her with his four red optics. If she didn't know any better...

_"It's a sparklin'..." _Jazz was clinging to Barricade at this point to get a better look at the little creature... Barricade growled lowly his plates bristling at the spirit's touch. _"Where'd he get a sparlklin...?"_

"Is that what I think it is?"

"She." Barricade spat angrily before running a soothing hand down the sparkling's back.

"It's a baby..." Cassie whispered before smirking. "Wow... I didn't peg you as the daddy type."

A weary red glare was shot her way. Cassie opted for being quiet while watching Jazz. His form had begun to flicker between that of his human guise and his original form. Cassie's eyes itched trying to keep up.

_"So tineh... but how've ya been feedin 'er?" _Jazz murmured as he ghosted a servo over the sparkling who purred... Jazz grinned at that. _"Ah think she can see meh.." _

"It's possible..." Cassie muttered.

"Hm?" Barricade retrained his focus onto his conscious captive.

Cassie shook her head. "Um... question and correct me if I'm wrong but if that's a baby... just how in the heck have you been feeding her?" No answer came from the black and white mech prompting Cassie to continue. "That's why you kidnapped us isn't it? To barter me for that energon stuff that your kind eats isn't it? Why didn't you just ask for help?"

The mech regarded her with a cautious gaze before replying, "I'm not exactly on speaking terms with the Autobots."

"And the guys from your faction?"

"They've barely enough to feed themselves let alone a sparkling..."

_"Most Cons would kill da sparklin without a thought Cassie..."_

"Have you tried to ask the Bots for help?"

Barricade snorted. "Most of them would shoot me without a passing thought. I doubt that Prime would even listen to me. There was only one mech that even trusted me the slightest and he's offline now..."

"Jazz?" Cassie blinked. "Why Jazz?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Cassie blinked at him before shifting her gaze to Jazz who smiled sadly at the black and white. _"He's mah older brotha."_

She raised a brow. _Now I didn't see that one coming..._

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

He could almost swear that Crescent was beating her head on his dashboard with the pattern that she had established. He already commed the others and set off to search the town for Barricade. He growled in annoyance, gritting his holoform's teeth. With his speakers out he was left to resorting to using his holoform to try to keep the spirit calm.

"Look I know there is a good reason you came to get me instead of Jazz. And I know that this is going sound weird but if you want to try to direct me towards them do something like tap on my steering wheel for left and the glove compartment for right. How does that sound?"

He soon found himself enveloped by the ghostly equivalent of a hug.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

* * *

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**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartsGuardianSol, koekiemonster (guest), Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, Emily Thacker (guest), E-Man-Dys (guest), Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, Tbkitty00 (guest), trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas,9 tailed vixen, AyanoZonurai, Crystal Blue Butterfly, GothicEmoGirl95, MiserysNightmare, Nova-girl703, ShizukaRen-Hime, alannasanderson101,girlsugarskull48654, meeep15, Jazzilynn Hall, Lee163, M00n Shadow, Rurikuro, Skydreamer1990, SKyelisia Stormbreaker, brezzetwilight, psychicgirl32, rainbowfiredrake, Amanda. cardoza .520 (FF kept thinking your name was a link and deleted it!), Fushia Flame, IIxTigerLillyxII, Kashagal and Natures Ruler,Luscil L. L, MysertiousQuillPen, Natalie RosewoodAlias, PipersLostChild, TPWABW, Valencia Gerard, XFallenSakuraX, XxSideswipe'sGirlxX, jazzinspac3, marbellag111, raxii, She Who Heals, SparkleQueen21, and shamrockgirl for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	21. Chapter 20: Perplexity

**Another short chapter but it's a chapter! To make up for it keep a peeper out for the quick oneshot that I will post in the next day or so...**

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Transformers... Though I did find TF:A Soundwave and Lazerbeak at Rite Aid earlier this week... I couldn't pass him up... I mean come on the likelihood of me finding _that_ particular version of Soundwave in the freaking stores _now... _Yay for luck!**

**Disclaimer 2: I got the idea for Barricade and Jazz being brother's from a fanfic by _Moonofwinds_ called _Run. _The theorem of _Polyhexian Rut_ comes from their uh... citrusy work. *coughs* So Credit goes to Moonofwinds for spawing the brotherhood of Jazz and Barricade...**

**Many thanks to my beta Khalthar!**

**Word count: ~ 1700 *Hangs head in shame***

* * *

**Chapter 20: ****Perplexity**

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

"Brother?! How is that possible? You look nothing alike!" Cassie blurted before her brain could stop her mouth.

Barricade's optics narrowed on the little human. "_How _did you know that?" he growled as he opened a compartment on his chest and placed the sparkling in it before standing to tower menacingly over the bound brunette. "There is no way you could possibly know that."

_Oh shit... _"Um... I have Turrets? Don't pay any attention to whatever spontaneously bursts from me?"

"Nice try fleshling, but I have seen your medical files."

"Is there no privacy nowadays?" Cassie grumbled before squeaking as she soon found herself in his tight grip.

"Tell me how you know that!" Barricade snarled.

"Lucky guess? I don't know! Please don't kill me!"

_"Tell 'im da truth Cassie."_ Jazz said as he ran his servo over the other mechs doorwings in an attempt to try to calm the angry mech. Cassie was pretty sure that was just making him even edgier. As it was Barricade's engine was snarling as he glared at Cassie as if he was torn between wanting to torture her or throw her...

"For the love of everything holy Jazz would you stop molesting your brother before he kills me already?" Cassie snapped at the spirit who quickly lifted his servo's in defeat.

~x~

~Barricade~

~x~

His optics widened as the irritating _itch_ that had been driving the sensors in his doorwings vanished almost immediately after the human snapped. He shuttered them twice as his processor finally processed just what she had said...

_"For the love of everything holy Jazz would you stop molesting your brother before he kills me already!"_

He raised an optic ridge. "Jazz? What you going on about?"

The human bit her lip as she continued to glare over his shoulder. A flick of his doorwings told him that no one was there. She let loose an irritated sigh. "Would you believe me if I told you that I can see the dead?"

"Highly unlikely. Your species capability for psychic abilities is low."

"Well I can and Jazz is the one that has been making your metal crawl."

"My brother is _offline. _Offline and in the Well._"_

"Yes he is offline, but he's still very much here. In fact he's been haunting me for several weeks." the femme said dryly. "And before you argue with me about it, I don't know why he's still hanging around here and not chillaxing in roboheaven. He doesn't even know why himself."

"Prove it."

"Pardon?"

"Prove it. Tell me something only he would know."

"Okay..." she trailed off as she frowned. "He said that the first time he met you, you two didn't get along. In fact you took it upon yourselves to instigate a prank war so bad that you both ended up magnetized to each other for about a metacycle because your sire thought it would be a good idea to teach you to get along with each other."

"Hm..."

"He also used to glue you to the ceiling several times out of revenge when you would mess with his datapads. And... The reason you don't look alike is because you took more after your carrier who is a Praxian... though that still doesn't answer my question..."

"Polyhexians go through a rut cycle... where they latch on to another Cybertronian, usually one they either know well or desire and well..." Barricade coughed to clear his vocalizer. He could feel the energon flush to his faceplates as he shifted uneasily in discomfort at the somewhat embarrassing topic.

The fleshling blinked before blushing. "Okay... That is a mental image I don't think I needed..."

"You asked."

_~x~_

Crescent~

~x~

She'd been tapping in Morse code on the doorframe for the last few minutes out of boredom as Sideswipe neared the forest, followed by the other bots. She was wondering if the bot would ever figure out what she was up to...

"I hope you realize that that is annoying..." Sideswipe growled through his clenched teeth.

_"I sometimes wonder if it was even worth learning Morse code in the scouts..." _Crescent grumbled. She kept tapping away on as they reached the edge.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

"What if I helped you with the negotiations?"

An optic ridge raised.

"Just hear me out. If we play this smart the bots hopefully-"

_"Heaveh emphasis on da _hope_ part o tha'." _Jazz muttered.

"Hopefully won't go nuts on you for kidnapping us. If I can keep them calm long enough to listen-"

"I highly doubt that." Barricade hissed lowly as he glared off into the distance. "They're already here, they just tripped the sensors I left at the edge of the parameter, and they're already in their Basemode."

Cassie wriggled in her bonds. "If you'd just let me go out and explain-"

His grip tightened on her. "Stop squirming and maybe I will let you attempt to convince them."

"It's kind of hard not to, since I'm wrapped tighter than a mummy. Couldn't you untie me?"

Barricade let out a sigh before running a claw against her bindings, and they fell away. Cassie let loose a whistle. "Don't you think ya need to trim those things Freddy?"

Barricade grunted before glancing down to where he had left Judy... Only to find a pile of ropes. "How in the pit did she get out of those?"

~x~

~Judy~

~x~

Judy had knew she had no chance in getting her niece out of the bot's grip. So when he noted that the bot's were nearby she had bolted.

She cursed as she tripped over yet another root, sprawling face first into the mast. She spat a rouge acorn out of her mouth as a spotlight light grazed over the area she had landed in blinding her briefly before her eyes readjusted.

"Judy!" Ron's voice echoed from hidden speakers. **"Don't be afraid- We come in peace**!" sounded before the woman was scooped up out of the dead matter by a yellow servo.

"Boy am I glad to see you." Judy said as she was raised up to be inspected by Bumblebee. "It's about time you lot got here. What the hell took you so freaking long?!" she jabbed an angry finger at him.

"Mrs. Witwicky where is Cassandra?" the big black bot rumbled as he towered over the smaller bot's shoulder.

"The four eyed freak still has her. Back that way." She nodded her head back in the direction she had come from. There was a silver blur that could only have been the corvette in his bot mode dashing past. The blue and red bot and the black one quickly followed.

"Bee let me see Mrs. Witwicky." the yellow bot said as he ambled up to pluck her from his palm.

"Hey don't you manhandle me!" she snapped as the bot ran a green light over her. She could only assume it was a scan.

The bot gave her an unamused look before saying, "Shush."

"I know you did not just shush me." Judy growled up at the dayglo bot.

_~x~_

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe broke in to the glade, blades drawn, optics immediately landing on Cassie who was... Laughing? He froze at that. _What in the pit? Why is she laughing?_

"I can't believe you did that! Good grief everyone knows better than to stick anything into an electrical socket!" she snorted.

_Electrical socket? _"C-Cassie?" he stuttered as he blinked at her.

"Oh hey Sideswipe." she smiled as she turned to face him.

"You're freaking kidding me! You get kidnapped by this fragger who _should _be doing something dastardly to you, and all you can say is _'oh hey Sideswipe'_?!" He shouted as Optimus and Ironhide broke through the tree line. He growled and tightened his grip on his blades. "What the frag did you do to her?! It's got to be some Con brainwashing or some slag!"

"He didn't brainwash me you moron. Oh hey Crescent. Took you long enough." Cassie grinned at his shoulder which was still tingling with the presence of the afore mentioned ghost.

"Hand Cassandra over Con." Ironhide growled.

"You can take her. She's getting quite annoying." Barricade held his hand out.

"Hey! It's not completely my fault that you keep digging your own humiliation grave."

Barricade huffed irritably as Sideswipe reached forward to pluck the femme out of the Con's palm. Before he could grab her she wrapped herself full body around one of the ex-enforcer's digits.

"Cassie what in the-"

"Promise me you won't attack him the instant I'm away from him and I'll let go."

Sideswipe vented through his nasal ridge as he contemplated ripping the girl off of the pointed servo... "Please tell me this isn't Stockholm Syndrome." he muttered as the tingle on his shoulder vanished.

"Please! You need to swear to me that you will listen to what he has to say before you guys do anything rash!" Cassie said as she pointedly glared at Ironhide who's cannons were primed.

"Cassie-"

"_Swear it._" Cassie's voice took on an echo as her eyes paled to a light grey. _And now even Crescent is defending the fragger..._

"Cassandra, I give you my word that we will not cause any harm to Barricade until we have heard him out." Optimus said solemnly. The girl relaxed her grip on her captors servo, and Sideswipe plucked her out, holding her tightly against his chassis as he backed away, his engine growling angrily as he glared at Barricade.

He exited the clearing as he relaxed his stance before glaring down at Cassie. "What the frag is wrong with you? He could have killed you and you freaking _defend _him?!"

"This is more of a screwed up mess of unfortunate circumstances, Sideswipe... He really needs to speak with Optimus but you guys are always gunning to shoot him first and then ask questions. What were you planning to do when you found me? Cut him down? If you had you would have taken an innocent life in the process."

"Barricade is far from innocent." Sideswipe spat as he neared the fall back area where Ratchet was waiting to scan her.

"Yeah well the sparkling with him is." Cassie shot back.

Sideswipe froze. "Wait… Did you say sparkling?"

* * *

**Welcome to the ever growing fav and following list! Is your name on here yet?**

**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartsGuardianSol, _koekiemonster_, Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, _Emily Thacker_, _E-Man-Dys_, Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, _Tbkitty00_, trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas,9 tailed vixen, AyanoZonurai, Crystal Blue Butterfly, GothicEmoGirl95, MiserysNightmare, Nova-girl703, ShizukaRen-Hime, alannasanderson101,girlsugarskull48654, meeep15, Jazzilynn Hall, Lee163, M00n Shadow, Rurikuro, Skydreamer1990, SKyelisia Stormbreaker, brezzetwilight, psychicgirl32, rainbowfiredrake, Amanda. cardoza .520, Fushia Flame, IIxTigerLillyxII, Kashagal and Natures Ruler,Luscil L. L, MysertiousQuillPen, Natalie RosewoodAlias, PipersLostChild, TPWABW, Valencia Gerard, XFallenSakuraX, XxSideswipe'sGirlxX, jazzinspac3, marbellag111, raxii, She Who Heals, SparkleQueen21, shamrockgirl, _I have a dictionary, DJ Jazzy-D,_ DanielleDarkBoss, Astrocraft, Lady Gastonbury, Zadyek, Daughter of Hawkeye, _lotr-transformers67,_ angeldevil728, ChocoholicDiabetic1412, PorNgub,YamamotoFan, and ShadowOfAFlame1 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	22. Chapter 21: Truth be told

**I owe most of this chapter to Khalthar, who helped me muddle my way through this chapter. While I would give you all excuses as to why ti took me so long to update, I'll just say that's it's been a bad couple of months. The end. Moving on...**

**Disclaimer I don't own Transformers**

**Many thanks to my beta Khalthar. The rest of the thanks are at the bottom**

**Word count is in around 3600**

* * *

Previously in BnB since it's been slagging long since the last chapter posted...

_~x~_

_~Sideswipe~_

_~x~_

_You need to swear to me that you will listen to what he has to say before you guys do anything rash!" Cassie said as she pointedly glared at Ironhide who's cannons were primed._

_"Cassie-"_

_"__Swear it.__" Cassie's voice took on an echo as her eyes paled to a light grey. __And now even Crescent is defending the fragger..._

_"Cassandra, I give you my word that we will not cause any harm to Barricade until we have heard him out." Optimus said solemnly. The girl relaxed her grip on her captors servo, and Sideswipe plucked her out, holding her tightly against his chassis as he backed away, his engine growling angrily as he glared at Barricade._

_He exited the clearing as he relaxed his stance before glaring down at Cassie. "What the frag is wrong with you? He could have killed you and you freaking __defend __him?!"_

_"This is more of a screwed up mess of unfortunate circumstances, Sideswipe... He really needs to speak with Optimus but you guys are always gunning to shoot him first and then ask questions. What were you planning to do when you found me? Cut him down? If you had you would have taken an innocent life in the process."_

_"Barricade is far from innocent." Sideswipe spat as he neared the fall back area where Ratchet was waiting to scan her._

_"Yeah well the sparkling with him is." Cassie shot back._

_Sideswipe froze. "Wait… Did you say sparkling?"_

* * *

_~x~_

Chapter 21

~x~

~Ironhide~

~x~

Silence ruled the grotto as Ironhide glared at Barricade, the black and white mech's armor was flared as he regarded them with narrowed optics. "Well, are you gonna speak or not? Cause I've got no problem beating your aft from here to Cybertron."

"Ironhide."

:I'm just telling the truth. After all I wouldn't doubt that this slagger didn't some how coerce Cassandra into getting your word...: He replied over the comm as his engine grumbled in his chassis.

"Barricade. Why did you abduct Mrs. Witwicky and Miss Cooper?" Optimus asked quietly. Red optics narrowed in on the Prime. The con muttered something in Cybertronian under his breath.

Ironhide shuttered his optics as he blinked at the con. "Come again?"

"... I need your help." Barricade said through clenched denta.

A loud outburst in the direction from where Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Bee were in echoed though the night.

"You realize you could have merely tried to talk to us. There was no need to resort to this tactic." Optimus said as he stared over the Con who scoffed loudly.

"Yeah right. Your scout's hackles rise every time he's within sensory range of me. Sideswipe would rather cut me down without a blink of an optic, and your bodyguard right there is still contemplating on whether he should shoot me anyway." the Con sneered as he glared at Ironhide.

Ironhide turned his head away. He couldn't deny that the thought hadn't crossed his processor several times. Ratchet burst into the clearing, and the Con let loose a snarl as he backed closer to the tree line, his armor locking tightly on his frame, his engine growling. Ironhide frowned at the mech... Why did the way the glitch was acting seem familiar?

"Ratchet hold up!" Cassandra nimbly made her way back into the clearing on the medic. Sideswipe cleared the tree line shortly after.

"Slag it Cassie get back here!"

Ironhide shook his head. :How did you let your charge beat you back here?:

:... I am not going to answer that.: Sideswipe glared at him before trying to scoop Cassie up.

"Tell me she is trying to yank on my crankshaft." Ratchet glared at Barricade. "Tell me that you really don't have a sparkling."

Optimus' optics widened, and Ironhide snapped his head around to stare clearly at the mech. Barricade shuffled uneasily under their gazes, his stance tense. "And if I do?"

Another silent stare down fell upon them once more as Barricade's glare now included the yellow medibot who looked ready to pounce on the ex-enforcer.

After about three minutes Cassandra threw her hands in the air. "Oh for the love of cheese and crackers. Barricade kidnapped me and Aunt Judy because he needs energon for the sparkling and his supplies have become scarce. He's too damned proud and a little scared to ask you for help. And it's not like he could really ask his people for help. It's either ask you or watch the sparkling and himself starve."

"Is that true?" Ironhide asked quietly.

The Praxian nodded his helm. "I willfully offer myself as a Prisoner of War so long as you help me with the sparkling."

"Has it bonded to you?" The black mech met the crimson optics with his own blue ones.

"She has."

"Let me see her." Ratchet held out his servo to Barricade. The black and white mech's armor flared slightly as he glared at the lemon yellow servo. Several moments passed before Barricade vented a sigh and the sound of shifting plates as his sparkling chamber opened. Pale blue dots of light peered from within the darkness of the hold, their owner quivering slightly under the gaze of the new strangers. Barricade made a soft clicking noise as he tried to coax the sparkling out on to his servo. The sparkling vehemently shook its helm.

"It's okay little spark. They won't harm you."

A low whimpering chirp echoed from the Praxian's chassis. Barricade's doorwings drooped as he vented a sigh. "I know I told you to never come out when there were other's present... but please little spark, they won't harm you."

Another trill came from the sparkling.

"Where did you find her anyways?"

"... Mission City. She was one of the last few sparklings created by the Allspark. She was only one left online." Barricade said darkly. "The others had perished by the time I had found them." He said as the tiny sparkling gave an inquiring chirp and crawled out on to his waiting palm. The sparkling was looking off to the side at no one in particular, chirping. Barricade tipped his hand, causing the sparkling to tumble out of his servo and into the hand of the medic.

She blinked as the medic swiped a quick scan over her, tiny optics wide as she blinked up at them for several seconds before wailing at the top of her processor. All of the mechs winced, as the sparkling screeched and tried to get out of the medic's grip. Ratchet quickly returned the sparkling to Barricade, and her screams reduced to whimpering and chirps, her little form quivering in terror as her guardian gently ran a servo down her spinal struts.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie was rubbing her ears as she tried to get the ringing in them to stop, glad Judy had stayed behind with Bumblebee. She blinked up at Jazz who was cooing and also trying to soothe the obviously scared sparkling.

The whimpers died down, as Cassie noticed that the sparkling really _was _looking at Jazz. "Huh. would you look at that..." All of the bot's attention snapped to Cassie and back to the sparkling before she continued with, "If I'm not mistaken, I believe she can see and hear Jazz."

"Because she's looking right at him. He's been trying to help Barricade to calm her down." Cassie crossed her arms.

Jazz glanced over at her with a raised optic ridge. "_Ah doubt that Ol' Ratch got a good scan o 'er. Maybeh Ah could get 'er ta go to ya." _

"I'm not sure that's a good idea-"

_"Sure it is." _Crescent said from her current position on Sides' shoulder.

_No comments from the peanut gallery._

_"Get Sideswipe to put you down, and Ah'll coax her to the ground."_

"No- Argh damn it."

"Cassandra?"

Cassie sighed and tapped Sideswipe's servo. "Put me down, the peanut gallery wanta try something. Jazz doesn't think Docbot got the chance to really scan the sparkling right."

~x~

~Barricade~

~x~

It took him a while, but Jazz was finally able to coax the little sparkling down to Cassie. Surprisingly, Barricade remained silent as the tiny femme slowly made her way down his frame to sidle up to the human.

Up until a few klicks ago, he had hated this miserable planet. He'd been left to rust, and his brother had been offlined. Now he knew for a fact that his brother wasn't in the pit or in the well, because against the odds, he was _here._ Somehow, this fleshling was able to see and hear his brother, and that was one reason to actually like this world, but to learn that the sparkling he'd been caring for could also see and hear his brother was almost like a gift from Primus. It was very hard for him to believe that this fleshling would even bother trying to help him after the way he'd kidnapped her and threatened her, but there she was.

It was strange that Jazz apparently _liked_ her, or he'd never have listened to her command to stop messing with his sensor panels. It seemed that the sparkling also liked Jazz too, because the timid little femme was slowly going to the human named Cassie.

As soon as the sparkling was in her arms, Cassie turned to face Ratchet. She knew immediately when Ratchet made his scan, because of the weird tingling feeling that came with it. Instantly, the sparkling went from nervous, to shrieking.

Cassie clapped a hand over the sparkling's mouth which barely helped to lower the noise enough for her to be heard. "Hey, just relax will you? That didn't hurt did it? I didn't think so… so why don't you quit with the screaming already?"

Barricade watched in disbelief as the sparkling slowly began to calm down. He couldn't tell if it was strictly the fleshlings actions, or if his brother Jazz was somehow assisting. It didn't matter whether or not he wanted to believe the human's story about being able to see and hear the spirits of those who had been rendered offline… he had no choice _but_ to believe her. This fleshling femme had easily provided information that only his brother could have known. Then there was the way the Autobots acted in regard to her mention of Jazz's spirit, and the possibility that the sparkling might see him as well. They simply took it as a given. There was no argument; no debate, and no questions; they merely accepted her observation as an uncontestable fact.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

"I suggest that we continue with any care the sparkling might need once we are back at the base." Optimus announced firmly.

"Fine with me. I can ride back with Barricade." Cassie said quickly.

"What? NO!" Sideswipe bellowed angrily.

"Really? You're gonna yell at me? Forgive me if I have a little bit of self preservation when it comes to riding in you. Besides I'm sure that he won't go over the speed limit like somebot I know."

"And just how do you know that I won't kidnap you again?" Barricade asked curiously.

"Yeah, how DO you know?" Sideswipe demanded.

"Simple. If he tries anything, then Jazz can just possess him and take complete control just like Crescent sometimes does with me." Cassie said calmly.

"_Uh Cassie Ah don't know how ta do that!"_

"_Yeah, and I don't think I'll have time to teach him, either."_

Sideswipe appeared to think for a moment, probably because he distinctly recalled Crescent actually doing just that. "Fine, but I'm going to be right behind you two!"

"Good! That means I don't have to double up on my anxiety meds today. Riding with you scares the holy crap out of me."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I happen to be one of the _best_ drivers in existence!"

"Okay, first, I believe you've said this before and Secondly, so was my father, but that didn't stop some _other_ idiot from killing my sister and my mother now did it?" Cassie snapped back. "Accidents happen whether you're prepared or not Sideswipe. And being a speed demon is asking for it. Of course maybe you're just _trying _to give me a heart attack hm?"

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe cringed slightly at the girl's retort, noticing the disapproving glares he was receiving from his superiors. He opened his mouth to apologize to her when Optimus cut him off.

"That's enough… both of you. Cassandra, you may ride with Barricade and he will accompany us back to the base. The order will be Bumblebee, Barricade, Sideswipe, Ironhide, Ratchet, and then myself." Optimus said firmly.

Sideswipe was actually glad that Optimus had broken up the argument that way, because he really had no idea what to say to Cassie. She'd told him how her sister had died, and he'd even looked the incident reports up online. The other driver had been completely at fault, and it didn't seem to help any that he had also been killed in the crash.

_Open mouth insert pede..._ he sighed before he followed the others out of the grotto.

~x~

~Crescent~

~x~

Once everyone had transformed, Cassie climbed in Barricade's front seat, with the sparkling sitting behind the steering wheel. She saw her aunt Judy climb into the ambulance with the eye burning paint job. Then, Cassie couldn't stop from giggling at the sparkling's antics as she kept looking over the back of the driver's seat at Jazz.

"I think she likes you." Cassie said grinning.

"_Ah think she does too."_

"_Am I the only one here still worried about Pedocop?"_ Crescent demanded irritably as she hugged Cassie tighter. Cassie shifted in the ghostly grip but didn't complain. The bond between them was weak, and this was the closest thing next to possessing Cassie that would strengthen it quickly, but heck if she wasn't transmitting her weariness to her twin. Cassie grumbled something over the bond about the drain.

"_Cade ain't gonna do nothin'. He gave his word, an that's all there is to it."_ Jazz said without looking away from the sparkling. _"He may be a Con, but he's still got a sense of honor."_

~x~

~Judy~

~x~

"You're joking." Judy whispered in the silence of the ambulance's cabin.

Ratchet's holoform stared down at the little woman with a nonplussed look on his face. "I am not. My scans are very conclusive, and I've compared it to other data to ensure that it wasn't a mistaken parasitic-"

Judy held up a hand to cut him off. "Shut up." she hissed as she glared up at him. "You just _shut _up."

"Mrs. Witwicky-"

"You can't be seriously telling me that _I'm _pregnant. You can't because I've already hit _menopause._ There is no possible way that you are sitting there telling me THAT I'M FUCKING PREGNANT!" She was yelling at the end but she could have cared less by that point. She was glaring up at the medic who shifted uncomfortably under her hazel gaze.

Several minutes passed between the two of them. Finally Judy broke the stare off by sighing and ran a hand down her face.

"Um... Congratulations?"

"Yeah thanks..." Judy said in a _very_ sarcastic tone.

Ratchet wisely decided not to say anything more to the woman who seemed very irritable. The rest of their drive to the base was made in a very tense silence.

~x~

~x~

~x~

Judy was in a very foul mood when they arrived at the base and got out. She noticed the huge one called Optimus looking at her niece before walking over to her. Since Barricade had given her back Excalibur, she felt ready to deal with anything, and that included thirty foot tall robots. Walking over to her niece, she clearly heard Optimus ask his question.

"Cassandra… is your sister present? I wish to commend her quick thinking in notifying Sideswipe of your predicament. Had the situation been anything other than what it was, her actions may well have saved your life."

Judy saw the girl look to her left and smile for a moment before looking back up at Optimus.

"Yeah… she's almost always with me, since I'm about the only one who can see or hear her. But she says you guys REALLY need to learn Morse Code! She could have told you a LOT if Sideswipe had been able to understand her." Cassie said ruefully.

Judy stopped in her tracks and stared. Why were they _encouraging_ Cassie's delusions? Did they _want _to send her off the deep end?

"I will ensure that all of the bots know Morse Code in the future. Just in case Crescent ever needs to communicate with one of us again. I hope that a need for it will not arise. However, using her abilities to cause her voice to emerge from his speakers was a stroke of brilliance."

"Well I'm glad you did, and I'm _really_ glad it worked!" Cassie said with a smile as she looked to her left again.

"Crescent, I may not be able to see you, but I am aware that you can hear me, you should be very proud of yourself right now. Your efforts have saved several lives today. We would have attacked Barricade without hesitation, and never known about the sparkling until it was too late. I have no doubts that Barricade would have proven to be exceptionally dangerous with a sparkling depending on him. That means you have saved four lives today, including your sister's." Optimus said gravely.

"Why are you acting like her sister is really here?" Judy demanded irritably.

"Because she is. We know that Cassandra is able to see and communicate with those who have died, because she is also in communication with the spirit of Jazz. He was my First Lieutenant, and was killed not long after we first met Sam, so there is no possible way that she could know of him. Yet we know beyond any doubt that she speaks with him because he has been teaching her a form of fighting that has no commonalities with terrestrial martial arts. Learning of Jazz's presence was the reason we revealed ourselves to Cassandra." Optimus answered calmly.

"You're telling me there's _proof_?" Judy bellowed.

"Yes, there is. There is no other way that she could have known that Jazz and I are brothers, but she did. She knows, because Jazz told her. Jazz told has her things that _no bot_ else has _ever_ known about. She was able to convince me of Jazz's presence in mere seconds." Barricade said firmly.

Judy dropped her bat as she stared at her niece. The mix of heartbreak, sadness, and anger was plain to see.

"You mean every last damned psychiatrist you've seen for the last five years has been doping you up for no reason? Even I thought you were so torn up with grief over your sister's death that you had lost touch with reality. I felt sorry for you because I knew that you had watched her die right in front of you. Now I find out that THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU?!" Judy hissed before finishing in a shout of rage.

Judy bolted forward and grabbed her niece in a fierce hug. She was shaking from the emotions she felt as tears started running down her face.

"I'm sorry. I am _so _sorry! We're getting you off those drugs as fast as possible. I am _not_ having people think you're crazy when you're not." Judy exclaimed as she held Cassie tightly.

"Yeah well… I think I'll keep my anxiety meds. Especially if I have to ride with Speed Racer over there. I swear it's his goal in life to give me my first grey hair." Cassie answered.

~x~

~Cassie~

~X~

The tears in her aunt's eyes had stopped as Judy let go of her. Cassie watched her aunt walk over and pick up her bat. Then the woman's face hardened in a look of determination as she hefted Excalibur and started towards Sideswipe. Anyone could see that she was about to get really violent.

Sideswipe rolled backwards. "Um now... let's not get too hasty Judy. Really if I must I promise I'll work on being a better driver until Cassie only wants to ride me- Ride in me." he quickly corrected himself as his back bumper hit the wall.

Judy grinned a very toothy and sadistic grin.

"Mrs. Witwicky you need to calm down. Such anger is not healthy for the baby you carry." Ratchet said as he stepped in front of her.

"_Baby? Aunt Judy's gonna have a baby? We're gonna have another cousin?"_

Cassie looked over at her sister in shock. "Can this day get _any_ weirder?"

"_Tha' might be possible, but Ah don't think it's gonna be easy ta do."_ Jazz said with a laugh.

"Yeah… laugh it up Jazz. This ain't funny."

* * *

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**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartsGuardianSol, _koekiemonster_, Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, _Emily Thacker_, _E-Man-Dys_, Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, _Tbkitty00_, trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas,9 tailed vixen, AyanoZonurai, Crystal Blue Butterfly, GothicEmoGirl95, MiserysNightmare, Nova-girl703, ShizukaRen-Hime, alannasanderson101,girlsugarskull48654, meeep15, Jazzilynn Hall, Lee163, M00n Shadow, Rurikuro, Skydreamer1990, SKyelisia Stormbreaker, brezzetwilight, psychicgirl32, rainbowfiredrake, Amanda. cardoza .520, Fushia Flame, IIxTigerLillyxII, Kashagal and Natures Ruler,Luscil L. L, MysertiousQuillPen, Natalie RosewoodAlias, PipersLostChild, TPWABW, Valencia Gerard, XFallenSakuraX, XxSideswipe'sGirlxX, jazzinspac3, marbellag111, raxii, She Who Heals, SparkleQueen21, shamrockgirl, _I have a dictionary, DJ Jazzy-D,_ DanielleDarkBoss, Astrocraft, Lady Gastonbury, Zadyek, Daughter of Hawkeye, _lotr-transformers67,_ angeldevil728, ChocoholicDiabetic1412, PorNgub,YamamotoFan, ShadowOfAFlame1, 0Colossal Cupcake0, Blackrose3109, Frostover317, Lucaila, KuroIchi30866, Of-Light-and-Shadow, Saphirestream, Starlit Storyteller, ThoseCrystalEyes, ToubleBecca123, Vengeful Jeans, Wings of Indigo, Yawh, bandrose111, knyghtstar, sparkle-glitter-and-fly-on, MissDarkBlu259, ShinraFox, Yami- The Lord of Darkness, a. wondering. soul, kieara. bear80, sassykitkat, shadowdarkcloud, tmntwolf-lover5 for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


	23. Chapter 22: Define Defiance

**v.v; I would beg for ya'll's forgiveness on how bloody long it's taken me to get this out, but well... yeah. RL crap, ad a steady writer's block... but oh enough of that...**

**My thanks to my beta, Khalthar. You are awesome.**

**BTW Thank you everyone that is reading this... I just noticed that this story has almost reached 25000 views. That shocked me when I saw that. Thankyou! TuT The rest of thanks are at the bottom of the page.**

**Word count is in at 1996 words.**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Define Defiance**

**~x~**

**~Jazz~**

**~x~**

_"Ya think he's gonna run outta hot air anytime soon?"_

_"Hmm... I doubt it." _Crescent commented as the huffing and spitting bureaucrat passed by their observation place once more arms flailing in the air amidst his tantrum.

_"Ah'm surprised with how well Judy 's taking his fit."_

_"Oh trust me she's waiting for him to breathe before starting in on him."_

"-and furthermore If you say so much as a whisper about this to anyone-"

"Now hold on a minute. Do you really think I'm that much of an idiot? Look here mister I'll have you know that just because I am a woman doesn't mean I'm a freaking gossip. And if that is what you're insinuating well then I'll have to introduce you to my Ex."

"Just what the hell would your-"

A certain titanium bat cracked on the table while she took a sip from her bottle of water. Galloway's eyes widened as he glanced from the bat to the woman before opening his mouth-

"Here's your coffee sir, sorry it took me so long, I had to brew some more." Cassie said sweetly as she startled the man.

"Uh... thank you Artemis..." Galloway said as the girl leaned in.

"I would suggest you that you diffuse the situation as soon as possible and do it gently sir. I _really_ doubt she's the kind to take it easy on you if you piss her off." Cassie said before pulling away. Judy who had been glaring hate at the man paused to shoot a brief look of confusion at her niece. Cassie winked as she made her way out of the room.

Galloway swallowed before giving Judy a smile. "I didn't mean to irritate you Mrs. Wittiticky."

"It's _Witwicky_." She said in a near snarl.

Crescent snickered.

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie sighed as she leaned against the wall of the hangar. Galloway was such an ass... He had insisted on having his new on base intern serve him coffee... i.e. Her. She more than half hoped that the moron wouldn't take her warning and her aunt would give her bat a good long and very _thorough_ work out… but seeing as there was a decided lack of vocalized anguish she figured that he must have had at least one grain of self-preservation.

Pity.

"There you are."

Cassie glanced up to find Sideswipe poking his helm out of the hangar. He was frowning down at her. "Nice dress."

Cassie stuck her tongue out at him. The silver mech chuckled as he sat down and leaned against the hangar. "You probably shouldn't hang around me. We don't need to blow my cover after all."

"Galloway's gone. The aft offered a lot of money for your aunt's silence and bolted for his copter before anyone could blink." Sideswipe snickered.

"Figures." Cassie muttered as she pushed herself away from the wall. "That guy is a snake. A dirty bureaucrat that has only power and spite in his eyes."

"I saw how pissed Judy was with the way he was looking at you."

Cassie raised a brow. "I'm surprised that you weren't mad for how he was looking at me."

"You were in character."

"You could act like you care." She said as she walked around him and heading inside, she almost made it in when a silver hand blocked her path.

"Hey where do you think you're going?"

Cassie frowned up at Sideswipe before replying. "To the med bay. I was gonna go check in with Ratchet and see it- hey!" She yelped as she was scooped up by Sideswipe. "What gives?"

"Last time I checked that _Con _was in the med bay and _I_ don't want you anywhere near that monster." Sideswipe growled.

"Sideswipe he's not a monster."

"Yes he is. He's killed _thousands_ of mechs. Killed dozens of innocents, he and his kind have done all of the worst things you can imagine and then some! He's _evil._"

"And you haven't killed anyone? Can you say with a clear conscious that your hands are free of blood, free of guilt? Sideswipe, I know that you guys are in a war but you can't keep looking at everything as black and white. Yes he's a Decepticon, yes he's killed, but _so have you._ Barricade's asked for the Bot's help because he's trying to help that sparkling. If he was truly evil he wouldn't even have bothered with saving her."

"Hmph. That doesn't mean that he's a fragging Prime."

Cassie let loose an irritated sigh. "Sideswipe..."

"Cassie." Sideswipe said in a mockingly similar tone.

She glared up at him. "Put me down. Now."

"Not until you tell me that you will _not _go to the med bay while _he's _there."

"Um... Ya know the last time I checked you weren't the boss of me." She growled up at him.

Sideswipe's grip tightened. "I am your guardian. I think that should make you want to listen to me."

"Some guardian you are." Cassie hissed at the pressure. "You fight with me all the time, try to kill me with my fear of fast driving, and I've managed to get kidnapped on _your _watch."

"Well if you weren't so reckless then I doubt that any of that would have happened."

A deep chuckle had both of them snapping their heads to gaze upwards at the regal blue and red Mech standing just on the inside of the hangar doorway. "I find that statement rather amusing and very ironic coming from you of all mechs."

"Sir?" Sideswipe raised an optical ridge.

"Are you okay Cassandra?"

Sideswipe glanced back at the girl tightly clenched in his grip who smiled a grimace up at Optimus.

"Yeah I'm good. Though I was hoping to go see Ratchet in the med bay."

"Perhaps you should run along then." Optimus smiled at the girl as Sideswipe gently put her down. Cassie quickly walked past Prime before turning around and briefly to flip Sideswipe the bird.

~x~

~Sideswipe~

~x~

Sideswipe glared at the femme who smirked as she made the crude gesture. He watched Cassie's retreating form up until Prime moved to block his view. Sideswipe looked back up at Optimus, who met his gaze with a tired one of his own.

"Sideswipe."

Sideswipe shifted uneasily. "Sir... How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough." The Prime said as he moved to stand next to the silver frontliner. "Miss Cassandra was very astute with her summary."

"Forgive me if I'm not that easily convinced." Sideswipe growled. "You know just as well what the Con's have done. Saving the life of _one_ sparkling isn't enough to redeem that fragger."

"But it _is_ a start." Optimus said quietly.

Several minutes silently passed by between the mechs before Optimus put a servo on his shoulder. "Don't take your frustration out on your charge. She was only doing what she thought was right. And besides," Optimus paused as he gave a quick amuse smile. "I do recall you and your brother being called reckless more times than I can recount."

~x~

~Barricade~

~x~

"-gging glitch! When was the last time you even had a maintenance check done?! Look at this grime! Did your fragging creators never teach you about proper hygiene?!"

Barricade winced as he was berated by the medic, the upper set of his optics clenched in pain from where Ratchet had whacked him over the helm.

"Well I wouldn't exactly call the 'car washes' the squishies have a deluxe wash rack." Barricade grumbled under his venting.

A wrench met the black and white's helm once more as Ratchet growled, "I heard that."

"Good. I meant ya to,"

Ratchet's engine growled at the barb before he turned and snatched cube of mid grade from one of the cabinets. "Here! No feeding the bitlet from your lines until your levels are back above eighty percent. You're barely functioning at thirty percent. If it wasn't for the sparkling I'd put you under until I could give your systems a decent overhaul. She can be bottle fed low grade until you're feeling better."

"Corona."

"Hm?"

"Her designation. It's Corona." Barricade said quietly as he glanced over at the sparkling. "I found her in an abandoned warehouse, clinging to one of her fellow newsparks, both were so tiny, so fragile... and energon deprived."

The faintest of smiles flickered across the medic's faceplates, not going unnoticed by Barricade. "I suppose I don't need to check over your guardian protocols."

"Heh. I may be a Con but I _was_ an enforcer. It's kind of hard to dismiss the protocols pertaining to sparkling protection and guardianship."

"I recall seeing the programming a time or two. However most enforcers don't _bond _with their temporary charges."

Barricade vented heavily. "It wasn't my intention... It just happened."

"Hm..."

~x~

~Cassie~

~x~

Cassie walked into the med bay to see Ratchet smiling at the little sparkling. She had to admit, the little thing was _adorable, _and she couldn't help smiling at the little bot. Meanwhile the sparkling was ignoring the rest of the room's occupants completely, because her attention was solely on Jazz. Jazz wasn't even being _close_ to serious either. He was clicking, and chirping, laughing, and making all kinds of sounds. The sparkling chortled loudly, causing the older bots to pause in their discussion to stare at her.

"What is she laughing at? Corona isn't paying any attention to us." Ratchet frowned.

"I think she's focused on Jazz." Barricade said quietly. "Cassandra said that she can see him."

"She is. He's doing… well... Jazz what in the world _are_ you doing?" Cassie asked with raised brows, she just had to ask because he now making some of the weirdest noises she'd ever heard.

"_Ah'm speakin Cybertronian gibberish."_

"Cybertronian gibberish?" Cassie asked with a shake of her head. "What's that?"

"That is our equivalent of making baby talk to sparklings. If Jazz is doing that, then it's no wonder that she is paying no attention to us, because he would be _far_ more entertaining at the moment." Ratchet answered quickly.

"_I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm starting to like the little tyke."_ Crescent grinned from her position on the berth near the sparkling.

Cassie did a double take as she stared with wide eyes at her twin.

"_What?" _Crescent raised a brow as she noticed to look Cassie was shooting at her.

"I think I'm going deaf... Did you just say what I think you did? Miss I'll hate kids for the rest of eternity? You actually _like_ her?"

"_Yeah I do. I mean she's not drooling all over everything."_ Crescent said with a shrug and a grin.

"Okay, so you've got a point." Cassie mused before frowning in thought. She then turned to Ratchet. "Wait. Do sparklings drool?"

"No, they don't. If they get too much energon, that might come back up in a mild purge… or _vomit_ as you might say, but they do not _drool_." Ratchet lectured.

"Okay… so let me get this straight. She's cute as a button, she doesn't drool, and she doesn't make messy diapers?"

"_Nah! Sparklin's don' do tha' stuff."_

"Sparklings don't do _either_ of those things!" Barricade snapped before cringing. _"_Thank Primus for that."

Cassie couldn't help it as she turned to her sister with a wide grin. "What's not to like?" Cassie asked with a happy squeal.

"Oh Primus help us! I think you just lost that sparkling." Ratchet told Barricade softly.

"Femmes." Barricade muttered with a roll of his optics.

* * *

**Welcome to the ever growing fav and following list! Is your name on here yet?**

**Many mnay many thanks to Catgoddess92, Katanna Cain, Princess Of The Sea555, TFAN Override, imjaysong, liv cahill, HeartsGuardianSol, _koekiemonster_, Khalthar, Alice Gone Madd, Bat Girl 22200,Defender 54, .Royalty, Shadow Night Prime, Skyress98, Vodid, Heather Taft3, meangirl8, raven-saber, Dances in the Twilight, Fandom Jumping Expert, Whitelily Prime, arakmellon, jessica541991, wordgeek1000, Alumniea, AnimeQueen99, Forestfirekid, GveryThinGGoesRACER, MiniAjax, NilliaWafersP, Soundtrack-Fanatic, angelic-muse-of-nature, , hadrianlopez1, WhiteWolfWoman, Blue-Black Flames, Cutie Kyuubi, Hamato Sakura, darkhuntress621, kellyhorse, valeries26, The Writer Akayla, 1, BrokenScarlet, Enigmatic Daydream, FreyaHawthorne, Leader of the Wolves, Littlebirdd, Mango-sama, TF angel, TatteredAngel 42, HeartStarryNights, Croonsgirl, UndeadHatter, SarahGayle, HappehKitsune, Kate555, EmeraldStar8273, FluffyPizzaPie, Rumbling Frenzy, Kiesha is a darkest mind's fan, Maria Prime, Reader103,Shady Kitsune, SilverMistLove9898, YepNopeMaybe, dancertoria, truethings, ruler of the ice dragons, Agnew-san, Lauz-millz, SasshriaRayu, Vampirbite801, arakmellon, lillithwolfshadow, scaryeyes101, Dakota or bigcat night Prime, Kokerret , twizzlers24, FredWeasly,99, Jimmy 144, Patches9812, emc2fantasyfan, _Emily Thacker_, _E-Man-Dys_, Fangirl01music, CarsCars2Fanatic, Derra, .Mini-Fan, Marfo Fuara, Muirgen79, Nessamir, ShiroOokami44, Sky65, SomeoneThatExists, chained2love, night prince, predalien1425, MercenaryBunny, Candlestic, EmeraldDagger, Gotta Dance 88, Nox rcanna The Nerconomicon, sarielgrace, Jasmine SiMing, Rayna17, mezzieb1, Rockubyebaby, ShadowScroll, arealnative, canikostar99, Melanyrose, The Ghost129, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, Loveatdonnie, CrazyKitteh007, technoWriter15, VineAuror, _Tbkitty00_, trat199816, Bluehelixx CarlssonElyy Falcon's Hyperdrive, FlowerForTheDead, Hero-100, Shadow Noir Wing, Pyromaniac Demon, Valavare, Kyubbi lover 98,Soaring Hawk1, TwiggRules, Yuki420, firespark15, Jennybot19, Kyriafox, Waterfront, Wingstrike, darkling98zouless,DisneyCraze, OrbofImagination, Morgageb, DoctorHarleyPrime, Penny The Queen Of Imagination, jetstorm1959, cbrown0925, MaddySan5926, SAMCRO1864, StormMonStarLight, TerrorTwinEpicness, Kira The Dead Ninja, MidnightStar64, golden-priestess, StarGazer360 , AND Lovina Rossie-Vargas,9 tailed vixen, AyanoZonurai, Crystal Blue Butterfly, GothicEmoGirl95, MiserysNightmare, Nova-girl703, ShizukaRen-Hime, alannasanderson101,girlsugarskull48654, meeep15, Jazzilynn Hall, Lee163, M00n Shadow, Rurikuro, Skydreamer1990, SKyelisia Stormbreaker, brezzetwilight, psychicgirl32, rainbowfiredrake, Amanda. cardoza .520, Fushia Flame, IIxTigerLillyxII, Kashagal and Natures Ruler,Luscil L. L, MysertiousQuillPen, Natalie RosewoodAlias, PipersLostChild, TPWABW, Valencia Gerard, XFallenSakuraX, XxSideswipe'sGirlxX, jazzinspac3, marbellag111, raxii, She Who Heals, SparkleQueen21, shamrockgirl, _I have a dictionary, DJ Jazzy-D,_ DanielleDarkBoss, Astrocraft, Lady Gastonbury, Zadyek, Daughter of Hawkeye, lotr-transformers67_,_ angeldevil728, ChocoholicDiabetic1412, PorNgub,YamamotoFan, ShadowOfAFlame1, 0Colossal Cupcake0, Blackrose3109, Frostover317, Lucaila, KuroIchi30866, Of-Light-and-Shadow, Saphirestream, Starlit Storyteller, ThoseCrystalEyes, ToubleBecca123, Vengeful Jeans, Wings of Indigo, Yawh, bandrose111, knyghtstar, sparkle-glitter-and-fly-on, MissDarkBlu259, ShinraFox, Yami- The Lord of Darkness, a. wondering. soul, kieara. bear80, sassykitkat, shadowdarkcloud, tmntwolf-lover5, Faith Woodhope, Hawkie-Chan, Kgoodrich16, LunaSIlverSkye1614, Norasalina, Redder45, TheSacrasticKnight, WarriorKat21, darkling98zoulless, hayleypayne05, It199798, lyndeshia . finch . hyugaclangirl, lynnenikko666, saiyan angel blue, serenabishop97, 99luftballons,x . o. x, Creative Lunatic, Cybertronian, Elementi3197, Loki's Aunt, Midnight Hikari, Narnian Opal, NoFearAtAll, SassyMusicalKitKat, fuzzywhatsits, halie987, onceinabluemooncosmo, quantumleap13, shiki skylark kaien, whitlockbabe, xSunstreakerxandxLegolasx, zazeazu for fave/follow/reviewing... Eee ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou****Thankyou! Y'all inspire me to write!**


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